From Savior to Avenger
by ImpromptuApathy
Summary: Harry Potter came out of the War victorious against Voldemort, only to be thrust into another war, one far beyond the realms of man. As he faces uncertainty without his old allies by his side, Harry learns to fight alongside new ones and show that the boy-who-lived is more than a savior, and the Chosen One is more than a legend, but that Harry Potter is an Avenger.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: **First of all, huge credit to the motivation behind this fic goes to "Finding Home" by cywsaphyre. That story really got me going into writing again. Also, thank you cywsaphyre for giving me permission to write this piece after reading "Finding Home." This story takes some elements of it, but hopefully I can make the plot grow into something own my own design.

**Disclaimer:** Don't own it, never will own it, never writing another disclaimer for this story because it's a pain so there's my disclaimer (come to think of it, I don't think I ever did a disclaimer for my other story… whoops).

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, was a legend among wizards throughout Great Britain, and to no small extent, the world. Born on the 31st of July, in 1980. The defeater of Lord Voldemort on May 2nd, 1998. The Chosen One prophesized to save the world. The savior-who-disappeared from the world immediately after the death of Voldemort.

At the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry's closest friends saw the curse rebound on Voldemort, effectively killing him and marking the end of an era of suffering, but they were horrified to see another sight. The magic that had ruined Voldemort remained suspended in the air, hovering over the ex-dark lord's body. Whirling around and collecting together, it slowly gained speed and formed a seemingly harmless ball of electric blue magic. Pure magic in its unaltered form some scholars called it later on as they tried to investigate the disappearance of the great Harry Potter.

The ball promptly stopped swirling after all the wisps and had joined together, and for a few seconds, everyone awaited with baited breath, unsure of what to do. It then shot forward, straight through Harry's heart, his eyes wide open in surprise as he felt himself being pushed by this magical force through the air. Faintly hearing his friends and battle-weary comrades yelling his name as his body flew away, he could only look on in horror as his home, Hogwarts, disappeared from his view and become replaced with tall buildings made of iron and metal, filled with electricity before blacking out completely on the concrete sidewalk.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Are you sure he just appeared out of thin air?"

"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! Bruised and battered, broken bones, blood on his body, everything! That's why I brought him here. Can you treat him?"

"We'll try our best ma'am. That's all we can promise."

Hearing the sound of footsteps leaving, Harry Potter wearily opened his eyes. His head ached like no others and the injuries from the Battle of Hogwarts did not help at all. It seemed he was in a bed, being carted off through various hallways.

"Are you awake son?" the man dressed in a white lab coat asked.

His face was filled with wrinkles and had a salt-and-pepper colored mustache matching his short hair. He seemed worried, yet also a little bewildered still by the woman's story.

'_American,'_ Harry figured from his accent.

"Yes…" he managed to groan out.

"Good, I don't know where you got all these injuries from and I'm sure you're not in any state to tell us yet, but you should know that a very nice lady dropped you off here when… as she says… you fell from the sky in a flash of blue. Don't know how much credit I put into that theory, but there you go nevertheless," the doctor explained with a skeptical look on his face as he continued pushing Harry.

"Where am I?"

The doctor looked nonplussed at this question, assuming some head trauma was involved in messing with the poor boy's thought process at the moment, "You're at the Ronald Reagen UCLA Medical Center."

Harry's mind blanked, he had never heard of such a place before, but it sounded like a muggle hospital by what little he could gleam from it. White lab coats, people sitting and waiting in chairs, workers running in and out of rooms with different equipment. Harry couldn't see very clearly with his broken glasses, but he could at least get that much from his surroundings.

Harry weakly rummaged his pockets and at least found Draco's wand in his pockets, the one he had claimed and used against Voldemort, and yet surprisingly, in his other pocket he felt another wand, and a stone, and some kind of cloth. Harry felt a shiver run up his spine while simultaneously feeling some dry humor at how all three fit in his pocket. The objects were dangerous, he knew, but he was glad that they were here in this foreign land with him, regardless of the implication of their presence.

The doctor pushed the cart into an empty room and said, "Now rest here for a while. Sleep if you can because you look tired. From what I see, nothing is life threatening, but we need a deeper check-up soon to make sure everything's okay. I'll be back to perform that after I attend to some patients."

With that, the wizened man left.

Harry groaned slightly as he tried to move once again. Despite all of his cuts and bruises, he was quite fine. Still, he felt sore and did have an unbearable headache. Taking another deep breath, Harry forced himself up. He knew he couldn't stay here because the workers there were bound to ask questions he couldn't even answer himself.

'_But where do I go? What do I do?' _Harry thought to himself.

He looked up in a corner of the room and saw a large, yet thin television. Thinking back to his time with the Dursleys, he never remembered the telly being so thin and filled with that much vibrant color. Looking around he noticed all of the hospital equipment being quite advanced, or at least, Harry assumed so because he had never seen the things.

'_First thing I need to do is figure out where I am,' _Harry thought.

Closing the blinds, Harry quickly cleaned up his smaller injuries with some quick mutterings of _Episkey_. Then, he cast a few charms to change his appearance before stepping outside, looking like a normal visitor to the hospital. Walking around, he saw people on tiny little phones, much more advanced than those old mobile phones muggles seemed to have last time he checked. Furthermore, as he approached what he assumed to be the front desk, he saw a woman on what looked to be a computer. Harry never really used one himself, but from what he saw in the library, they were heavy, large, and relatively useless for anything except for calculations. Of course he didn't put much stock into it because the wizarding world was less-than-favorable when it came to muggle technology, but he did not expect it to be so small and sleek-looking. The screen was filled with colors and lots of different… programs… were opened up.

This cultural… and frankly life-shattering… shock made Harry wobble slightly. Pulling himself together, he spoke to the woman on the small computer.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me the time and date?" Harry asked.

The woman looked up at the oddly-placed British accent, but nodded and checked her calendar, "It's 12:30PM, and today is… May 2nd, 2006."

Harry blanched at that and the woman, looking oddly at his odd expression, asked, "Are you okay?"

Snapping out of his stupor, "I'm… quite alright," Harry said, and with a quiet _thanks_, walked out of the room and soon after, out of the hospital and into the world.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Four years had passed since that fateful day, and Harry Potter became Harry Evans, resident of Los Angeles. The first thing he had tried to do when he got out of the hospital was to look for any possible connection to the wizarding world he could find. For some reason, however, there was absolutely no way he was able to contact the American Ministry, short of creating some gigantic spectacle of magic, something he didn't fancy doing. When he tried apparating to Diagon Alley, he found it completely inaccessible via apparition, and when he tried going through the Leaky Cauldron, he found it non-existent. In fact, any trace of the wizarding world in Britain, Grimmauld Place, the Burrow, Hogsmeade, they did not exist.

This first month of Harry's new life found him confused, lost, and unsure of himself. He had spent every day looking for a trace of his old life, apparating back and forth to Britain to investigate on weekends while finding small work as a street magician on the weekdays to pay for his small LA apartment. He would've spent more time searching, but he had to make a living and intercontinental apparition was extremely tiring, and it was only through the Elder Wand and his experience in the war improving his stamina that he made it. He honestly did not know what to do, however, because it appeared like magic itself had disappeared from the world save for himself. He was the only wizard he knew, and the thought of it scared him.

Still, now, he came to find acceptance in it. After all that fruitless searching, Harry knew he had to move on with his life, because the world was filled with both danger and opportunity, and if he stayed moping, he would find the first one rather than the latter. So, while he worked during the day, he began to immerse himself in reading books from the library at night. The world had changed during his long absence, and he was determined to catch up with it.

Harry reveled in the intellectual growth of humans during the past 8 years, where muggles discovered things that the wizarding world had taken for granted or had not bothered learning. That, along with their use of technology, astounded Harry as even within a few years, progress was made in leaps and bounds. As he made enough money, Harry began tinkering on his own through books as guidance, as well as the Internet, once he had enough money for a computer.

While his first year was a flop in terms of his own personal discoveries, Harry learned many things as he worked with whatever technology he could get his hands on, from remotes to old computers. With it, he also began to look into a broader range of subjects, beginning to read on different aspects of physics and chemistry. He was no genius, but over time, he felt himself adequately prepared enough to join as a volunteer at nearby research institutions and over the course of the past few years, managed to co-publish some research papers with colleagues and gained revenue as a researcher, eventually allowing him to drop acting as a street performer.

Despite all of these amazing muggle discoveries, however, Harry did not neglect his magic. While it had all but vanished from the world, Harry, with the use of the Elder Wand, found himself more adept to wielding magic. He could cast wandless and silent spells with ease and with that, Harry could perform spells he did not have a name for, because as long as he had the will, power, and direction for it, he could do a variety of things with magic. Maybe it was a side-effect of becoming the Master of Death, but Harry was glad for this ability because without any other information on magic, his learning would have been at a standstill for the most part because all he knew was what he learned thus far from Hogwarts and from the war.

Harry refused to have anything to do with the cracked Resurrection Stone, however, and only used the Invisibility Cloak sparingly because he never needed to really sneak around.

All in all, Harry felt freer than ever once he came to terms with his situation. No longer was he bothered by the government or by some dark lord. In fact, the time he had was his and no one else's. While he made a few acquaintances in the lab, he never spent too much time with human interaction in the past few years, enjoying the quietness his new life granted him. Whenever his colleagues went out for drinks after some breakthrough or a published paper, Harry would politely decline and return to his apartment, either to practice magic or research more.

The one thing Harry was not sure of, however, was how to deal with being the Master of Death. By owning the three Deathly Hallows, he was the Master, but he had no clue what it entailed. Quite frankly, death didn't scare him at all, especially after the events of the war. But this new position brought new responsibilities, and he did not know what he had become a part of. Harry was by no means immortal, at least from what he could tell, as he continued to age normally. He left it alone, however, because he did not want to dabble any farther with the possibilities when he was content enough with his own life.

Harry Evans, at the age of 22, finally felt some semblance of peace in his life. Content with where he was, excited to research and learn more, and constantly improving his magic, Harry could finally admit to himself that, despite all of his problems and lack of a wizarding world, he could enjoy normalcy. At least until he went to New Mexico and an organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D interfered.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry should've known to kept a low profile after everything he went through, but he enjoyed research because he was recognized because of his own works, not for being the boy-who-lived or some glorified Chosen One. Of course, his abilities as a researcher pulled him into S.H.I.E.L.D at first and explained why he was in this predicament. Attention, even the slightest, can bring issues.

His boss told Harry and his colleagues that there was an opportunity in New Mexico. Something about a hammer defying the laws surrounding physics and electromagnetism, and that they were offered a large sum of money to join the research team and would be leaving that night. Harry found himself curious about this object and wanted to see it for himself, because it was the first possible interaction he could have with something that couldn't be explained. Something like magic. And so, packing all of his important belongings with him, including some books and the Deathly Hallows (he would never leave it there for someone to steal if he was going to be gone for this long), he joined most of the team and headed to New Mexico in a private jet provided by this unknown benefactor.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When he got there, Harry learned about this organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D, which stood for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. He thought he had seen some pretty big cover-ups back when he had to deal with the Ministry of Magic, but this was on a whole different level. Red tape surrounded the entire operation, and as soon as the research team had gotten on the ground, they were forced to swear oaths to secrecy and sign wavers. Harry didn't mind this too much, because as legally binding as they were, he could easily interfere with his own abilities if need be.

No, what really interested Harry was the mystical hammer that was said to have fallen from the sky. He, along with the rest of the team, had spent all night trying to figure out why no one could lift the large, yet deceptively normal, hammer. Curiously, Harry had tried to reach out to it with magic, but even then it wouldn't respond. From what Harry could figure out, it was definitely not from the earth. Scientists were constantly running diagnostics and experiments on the hammer and the environment around it, but they came up with nothing.

But then came the madman who had attempted to raid the camp and retrieve the hammer, only to be captured, and then subsequently escape. From what Harry could hear, he seemed to speak in an old tongue, yet one used to authority and power. He had a dirty blonde, tangled mane and, to Harry, seemed completely out of place with the world around him. Try as the man might though, he could not lift the hammer, and as Harry looked on curiously, seemed to break down because of it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry sighed, slightly sympathetic at the man's helplessness as he had felt similarly once upon a time. He was packing all his stuff up after the excitement of the last day. They were cleaning up the lab and were moving on. Apparently there had been an incident with some extraterrestrials in the town of Puente Antiguo, and while it had been resolved, Harry had seen and heard enough. He had already dealt with enough oddities for his lifetime, and when it was clear this was not going to lead him any closer to the wizarding world, there was no point in staying.

Harry actually felt a bit guilty about taking the job in the first place, because he had thought he had long resigned himself to living this life in the muggle community. Yet here he was, jumping at the slightest opportunity to search for remnants of his past. Shaking his head in annoyance, he put the last shirt in his suitcase to head on the next flight home when his path was blocked.

Standing in the doorway was a man, most likely in his late 40s, dressed up in a regular black suit and tie, who appeared to be all business despite the slightly goofy smile on his face.

"Agent Phil Coulson," the man said, walking forward and extending his hand out, "S.H.I.E.L.D."

Harry looked at the hand hesitantly but took it nevertheless, "Harry Evans, small-time researcher."

Coulson raised his eyebrow at the word small-time before nodding and saying, "We have somebody who would like to speak to you."

"As you can see," Harry said, gesturing to his suitcase, "I'm about to leave with my team. Is this really important?"

Coulson merely nodded and was about to open his mouth when a deeper, gravelly voice sounded behind him.

"Yes, it's very important Mr. Evans, or should I say, Mr. Potter."

Harry froze at the statement and peered warily behind Agent Coulson. Standing firmly, with his hands behind his back, was a relatively bulky African American. He was dressed in all black and had an eyepatch on one eye. As Harry squinted, he could see some kind of scarring in the area around the patch.

"Who are you?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"The better question is who are _you_, Mr. Potter?" the mysterious man said, "Harry Evans the researcher? The nameless street performer? Or wizarding savior, Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**AN: **What am I doing with my life? Ugh, an almost full year later, and yet here I am, writing a completely new story. I blame watching the Avengers with my friends the other day. That and reading the great story "Finding Home" by cywsaphyre. (Read that story, it's really really good). I hate myself so much, but that story and the movie inspired me to take a stab at the constantly growing crossovers between Harry Potter and the Avengers. To be honest, this probably isn't my best work because I did this while I was _supposed_ to be working on internship projects (I got an internship yay!), but I haven't gotten anything to work on yet that I haven't finished. Soooo yeah.

And to the fans of Defendo et Spes… if I have any that is, don't worry, I expect to have a chapter of that up and running once again by… the end of June. I think. I hope. It's not dead, I promise you that, but this is a plot bunny I need to get out of my head. Sorry I've been dead for about a year, but university, while great, has been a pain in the butt, so much work and responsibility to deal with. At least it's summer and so I'm back, for a while! See you all soon!


	2. Chapter 2

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Seeing the infamous Harry Potter's face completely bewildered, the man continued, "I am Nick Fury. Leading agent of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And how do you know who I am?" Harry asked; weary of this man he knew nothing about.

Coulson simply stood there, looking confused. Wizard? Savior? He was just told that Nick Fury wanted to talk to this young man. Fury nodded at Coulson. The agent left the room, albeit with a confused look, closing the door behind him.

Fury reached into his jacket, and Harry immediately went to his pocket, until he saw the large man pull out a manila folder and threw it on the desk next to him. Harry picked it up, eyes widening at what he saw. Information about his exploits as Harry Potter during Hogwarts were all listed out with his friends, as well as a highlighted line that said _MISSING_ that was crossed out and replaced with _FOUND, MAY 2__nd__, 2006. _Beyond that, it listed his research merits, his apartment location in Los Angeles, everything. Harry noticed with some small joy that they failed to mention his possession of the Deathly Hallows.

"We keep tabs on people like you, Mr. Potter," Fury continued, "Or more like we worked with the American Ministry who gave us necessary information, and then we continued a bit farther. And don't worry, people who don't need to know, don't know."

"Worked?" Harry asked, his face only slightly relaxing that the information wasn't too public, "As in the past?"

"Yes, the American Ministry is no longer with us," Fury said with a scowl, "In fact, Mr. Potter, you're the only accessible wizard now in the entire world, and a powerful one at that."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, dropping onto the bed with a sigh.

"Things have happened since your battle with Voldemort, including an inexplicable wave of magic that alerted the entire world of non-magicals to your people's presence," Fury explained, "When you disappeared for eight years, Mr. Potter, radars all over the world felt the surge of magic and immediately looked for an answer."

"And did they find one?" Harry's face was filled with trepidation.

"They almost did," Fury said.

"What do you mean?" Harry yelled, anger rising, "Bloody hell, give me a straight answer."

"We've been working hand-in-hand with the American Ministry since we handle more… sensitive manners of the government… but things have changed."

Fury pulled out another file, labeled with a large red _CONFIDENTIAL_ on it and set it on the table on top of Harry's file. On the file was the title "Magical World: Great Britain."

Apparently, when Harry had disappeared, it was in a burst of magic that lit up radars everywhere around the world and broke all the magical wards in Britain. While wizards attempted to control the damage as soon as possible, they were still recovering and didn't have the manpower to solve the problem until days later, and by then muggles around the world were up in arms to discover the source. A surge of powerful energy could mean anything, including a source of strength for certain militaristic countries as well as renewable energy for others. To top it off, the weakened wizarding world in Britain was not prepared for the technological advances of muggles, who came to the site with all sorts of instruments, some of which could pick up anomalies such as magic, even though they didn't realize what it was. And, with the wards still down, wizards throughout the country could only handle the situation on a case-by-case basis, obliviating muggles as they came and destroying whatever equipment they could. The Ministry of Magic, already torn apart by Voldemort and his Death Eaters, was in no state to provide immediate response, and when it finally did, weeks later, they responded in fear.

Wizards in Britain hid, completely. The first ruling of the new Ministry of Magic was the Declaration of Absolute Secrecy. Literally, wizards in Britain had no choice but to either live with muggles and lose their wand, or isolate themselves completely from muggle society. The idea was met with much controversy, but with the weakened will of wizards over the war and the loss of their savior, people eventually accepted it for what it was. It allowed them to escape, live on their own. They were in no shape to take on muggles and hide their magic in the weakened state. Those who chose to hide traveled to some unknown place and magic hid wizards absolutely to the point where even fellow wizards outside of the "bubble" could not contact those within. Wide-spread obliviations occurred, and the presence of wizards was completely eliminated from Britain. Wizards who gave up their magic became regular muggles. They had no contact with other wizards, and for the most part, were obliviated as well to prevent the risk of another incident of clashing cultures once again.

When other countries heard of this initiative, other wizards around the world scoffed. But they couldn't help but become antsy. And as technology among muggles advanced, wizards became more and more fearful, to the point where they closed themselves off out of fear. While they did not create their own decrees for secrecy, the wizarding and muggle world became completely separated. Wizards did not feel safe walking out into the muggle world for risk of being found with the new muggle instruments, and the media only furthered pushed this image with horror stories and constant retelling of the problems Britain had faced. Even in America, the Land of Freedom, wizards found themselves wary of their non-magical co-inhabitants. They hid by pure virtue, and over time, no wizards were heard from at all, except for occasional mishaps.

The file had a small transcript of the last meeting between S.H.I.E.L.D and the American Ministry, ending with:

_It is hereby declared that the American Ministry will completely remove itself from national non-magical government. It has been found that non-magicals and wizards cannot co-exist in the present environment, especially with the rise of new technology threatening the revelation of magic to those who would wish to use it for harm and experimentation. Though the American government and S.H.I.E.L.D have been great allies to the Ministry, we must regretfully inform that we must pull away from society. While we will not modify the memories of those who knew us, because we see memory as a right that should not be taken away, unlike our overseas brethren. We pay our final respects because after this meeting, no more contact shall be made and we shall never be found again._

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Harry muttered, "How could they uproot everyone so easily?"

"And that's where you come in Mr. Potter," Fury said after seeing him finish the file, "We need you, the last wizard, to help us."

Ignoring his question, Harry asked, "How did you find me? How long have you been following me?"

Fury bristled at being ignored, but answered the young man's question, "Like I said, we keep tabs on everyone. When S.H.I.E.L.D picked up another anomaly like the magic flux you created when you left, we immediately investigated and found you, but we kept our distance. We helped you though, because didn't you think it was too easy for you to get accepted into research projects without having any reputation or any papers? We were interested in you, and we invested in you. You were the first magical activity in almost 5 years since the American wizards disappeared, and it matched the footprint of the other magical explosion you made. Unfortunately, you made less of an impact coming than when you left."

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, noticing Fury's annoyance in the last sentence.

"We were hoping that your disruption would cause another breach in the magical… wards," Fury said, searching for the right words, "And that we could find other wizards to rally to our cause. Unfortunately, but also luckily, we got you, the boy-who-lived."

Harry groaned at the mention of his old nickname. It would never leave him, and would only add to his problems, even now.

"Now what do you want from me?" Harry asked.

"What I want from you this Mr. Potter," Fury began as he pulled out another folder, "To join the Avengers Initiative."

'_Where on earth is he getting all these folders, he's like one of those street peddlers. Jackets lined with pockets,' _Harry groaned to himself.

Speaking aloud, Harry said, "No, absolutely not."

"Mr. Potter, you could make a big difference in the lives of mil-," Fury began.

"No! This is utterly ridiculous. You S.H.I.E.L.D people say you know my life? Then you should know that I got out of a war. I saw violence and death; in fact, I looked death straight in the eye! All I want now is to have a peaceful life, something that I can call my own. And you people want me to give that up so I can go play hero again?" Harry yelled, "Absolutely not! This is something I won't join."

"You don't understand the situation right now," Fury said calmly, "You need to think this through. You would be nowhere without our help in fabricating your papers. You need us just as much as we need you."

Harry felt anger coursing through his veins, but he forced himself to calm down. It annoyed him to no end that people still thought he needed to be coddled. Wasn't it enough that he dealt with the machinations of organizations like the Order of the Phoenix, who felt he was too young for it when there was a bloody prophecy surrounding his legacy? Or the Ministry of Magic first condemning and then trying to make him a poster child, like a puppet? He was his own person, and for the past four years, he finally experienced that, and yet this organization seems to have been pulling the strings this entire time!

Leaving his suitcase on his bed, Harry got up and pushed past Nick Fury.

"I think I need a breath of fresh air," Harry said, and without any further prompting, left the room.

Nick Fury, still miffed about being brushed off, collected all of the folders and walked away promptly, but not before placing a small tracker on Harry's suitcase.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Walking out into the dry New Mexico desert, Harry stood against the railing of the S.H.I.E.L.D facility. Looking out, he could see the town in the distance as S.H.I.E.L.D agents continued to move back and forth, trying to clean up the wreckage from the battle while cleaning up the facility as well. It seemed like they wanted no trace of S.H.I.E.L.D ever being present in the area.

Harry sighed, wondering what he was supposed to do now. On one hand, he could go back to his old life, make another name for himself. However, he had the nagging feeling that S.H.I.E.L.D would never leave him alone, and Nick Fury seemed very stubborn with his ideals. He would have to create a new life once again, and chances are, it wouldn't be as easy. While he had his colleagues to rely on, who knew how far S.H.I.E.L.D's influence went? On the other hand, he could join S.H.I.E.L.D and this Avengers Initiative. Honestly, he hadn't really heard much about it yet, besides it's supposed to save people.

But did he really want to go back to that job? It wasn't a career; in fact it wasn't even a normal lifestyle. Yet something in the back of his mind just called out to him, begging him to go back to doing what he did best.

"It wouldn't hurt to join you know…" a feminine voice chimed in from behind Harry.

Harry turned around to meet a woman with shoulder-length fiery red hair, kind of like _her_ hair, but more trimmed and tame. Blushing slightly, he could see the woman wearing a black, skin-tight suit. She walked with an air of confidence, yet her eyes looked like his; they had seen much.

"Did Fury send you?" Harry asked, eyes narrowed.

He hated being used, and this woman seemed to be another one of those kinds of people.

The woman bit the inside of her cheek as she played with her hair, twirling it around her finger, and then she pouted, "Why would you think he would send someone like me?"

"Please, drop the act. I might not know who you are, but I can tell this whole… whatever it is… isn't who you are. So why don't you just forget it and go back to your boss," Harry said angrily before turning around and looking back into the distance, forcing himself to ignore the woman.

Of course, it didn't help that she reminded him of _her_, of all the things he had lost. It hit Harry hard, all these reminders of the past, learning about what happened to the magical world, _his_ world. Hogwarts, the Burrow, even Grimmauld Place, were all home to him for the longest time. Those places brought him away from the lonely life he had before, the life where he felt worthless. It was there he had family in the Weasleys, in the professors, in his friends. Sure, sometimes they dropped responsibility on him like a gigantic anvil, but to him, the magical world had been where he felt at home.

When he woke up in this odd future and found out none of that existed, it was like a part of him had died. That month of searching was a month of desperation, of longing, of deteriorating hope. During this month, he always turned around at the slightest slurping noise or the sound of messy eating to see, even if it was impossible, Ron sitting there. When he was studying, he could always hear Hermione lecturing him about reading carefully and the importance of details. When he was alone, and tired, he would imagine just sitting there, holding _her_ in his arms. Even afterwards, the road to healing was long and arduous. Harry learned to bat away those images, to ignore those thoughts over time and let them fade into his memory. He had to force himself to acclimate to living in the muggle society. As great as all of their discoveries, as immersed as he was in science and technology, it could never replace magic. His training with magic was the only thing keeping him sane for a while, a constant reminder that what he experienced in the past was real, not a dream.

He had finally accepted it. He had accepted that while he was real, and the past weren't a dream, his home was gone. He had accepted the loss of the magical world and his friends.

Harry was of course curious for the longest time about what had happened, but he had accepted it. He came to New Mexico out of the slight hope that something magical could be found, but he had already known it was impossible, and looked forward to it more for its scientific oddities. And yet now, Nick Fury came into his life, drew out every ounce of hope he had locked away when he mentioned magic, and obliterated it, leaving Harry more crushed after finding the truth.

"Agent Romanoff," the woman said, shaking Harry out of his musings, "Natasha Romanoff."

Harry just nodded, but never turned around to face her. Natasha turned and leaned against the railing, looking out into the desert as well.

"So I take it you're a S.H.I.E.L.D agent too?" Harry asked.

"Yep. Been here for a while. I was actually one of the people tasked to look out for you once in a while, but don't worry," Natasha said, seeing Harry form a frown, "All I did was check in. I honestly don't know what's so special about you anyway."

"Um… I'm the boy-who-lived, remember?" Harry asked exasperated.

"Is that supposed to be special or something?" Natasha asked, real curiosity on her face, "I wouldn't know. All Director Fury told us to do was to make sure you were safe and to track where you were. He never gave us any details about who you were, why you were special, anything."

'_So not all of S.H.I.E.L.D knows who I am,'_ Harry thought to himself, _'That's good, I guess.'_

"Never mind," Harry said aloud, "What about you? Why are you a part of S.H.I.E.L.D?"

"Everybody has their own secrets. I won't ask for yours if you don't ask for mine," Natasha responded, smiling teasingly.

Behind that smile, Harry could see a dangerous glint in the woman's eyes as well. He decided to leave it alone and chose to simply sigh.

"I'm just not used to it," Harry began, "Coming back into the world like that."

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked.

"It's… complicated. You guys are asking me to become someone that I'm not anymore. Saving people was something that I used to do because I had no choice, and while it's important, it's something I wanted to leave behind me," he explained, "I'm not some kind of superhero."

"The Avengers Initiative," Natasha muttered to herself.

"What?"

"That's what Fury wants you for, right?" Natasha asked, "The Avengers Initiative?"

"Yeah," Harry said resignedly, "but I declined it."

"I see."

An awkward silence fell upon both of them. After a while, Natasha continued.

"Well, I tried to convince you. Did my job," Natasha said.

"What? That's it?" Harry asked, an eyebrow raised skeptically.

"I can't make you do anything, and even if I could, for some reason I think you'd be able to resist it anyway," Natasha said, "Even Director Fury said so. 'I can't make him do anything at the moment, so just do something so at least we can say we tried.' And that's what I did."

Harry snorted at that. He had a feeling that this was way too easy and that he did not hear the last of S.H.I.E.L.D. Natasha stood up straight and stretched.

"You know, you might be one of the most mysterious members Fury has tried to scrounge up yet. I've met some of the other possible Avengers, but you seem like one of the most normal person out of everyone. And yet, there's something about you. I can see it in your eyes. You've experienced a lot of things, like the rest of us, if not more. Despite how normal you are, you're always ready to respond to emergencies," she explained, "I can see it from your stance and the way you hold yourself."

"Are you a psychologist or something?" Harry joked.

Natasha took it at face value, "No, just someone who knows from experience."

Suddenly Natasha's phone rang, shaking Harry out of his pensive state, "Romanoff. You want me to what? Russia? Okay, I'll be there in a second."

Harry looked on in amusement as Natasha said a hurried goodbye and left. Taking one last glance at the New Mexico desert, Harry turned around and walked back to his room.

Putting the rest of things in his suitcase, Harry closed it. Pausing for a moment, Harry took a good look at his suitcase and stood there thinking for a bit. Then, he took out the elder wand and placed the tip on the suitcase. Letting the magic flow through him, a small, but powerful surge of power engulfed his luggage. Smoke rose from the side of it and Harry smiled.

As Harry disapparated, the only thing left behind was a tiny broken piece of equipment: Fury's tracker. Nick Fury may be good, but magic was better.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long you guys, I kinda... fell asleep. Haha. I've been waking up early every day for my internship, but then I sleep late because I'm still on university time which is sleep late and wake up late, and it caught up to me yesterday. Otherwise this would have been up yesterday.

Anwyay, this is more of a filler chapter leading into the events of the Avengers movie, so starting next chapter, the real stuff starts. This was more of exposition and explanations. Also, don't think that I'm leaving the wizarding world alone! It will be addressed in the future. So I guess spoiler, this story doesn't end after the movie ends. Surprise! Although I think it was obvious when I left the conflict of the wizarding world open while the movie still went on its merry way.

Oh and sorry if there are some parts that are worded weird or I mispell something. Or I might have grammar errors too. This is what I get for multitasing internships and fanfiction writing.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Before you start reading, I wanted to address one quick issue. The other stuff I'll put at the bottom author's note.

There are **not any planned pairings right now**, nor will there be any for this arc at least (this arc being the entire length of the movie portion). For this part of the story, I'm focusing purely on strengthening the bonds between the characters as a team and as friends, along with furthering along the conflicts. I've gotten some requests about pairings and about whether it should be slash or hetero or whatever, but right now, and for a while, it's going to be a general fiction. If it becomes something else, it'll happen way later on so don't worry about it.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

One year later…

"And according to recent news, Tony Stark, the Iron Man, has begun work on a completely environmentally friendly Stark towe-"

Harry turned off the news. It was already all everyone could talk about as soon as he came to New York. It was either Stark Tower this or Iron Man that. He had made pretty big headlines throughout America after the whole Stark Expo debacle, but Harry had heard enough of it.

After leaving New Mexico, Harry took a plane headed straight for New York. It was perfect for now, densely populated, tall buildings, and plenty of opportunity. With Fury having no way to track Harry any longer, he was free to do what he wanted once again. Besides, New York was full of stuff to do, especially as a researcher in the electronics field. Even now, Harry let out a bittersweet chuckle; Mr. Weasley would have had a field day with all of the muggle electricks.

It wasn't easy, but he managed to, with the help of a colleague who wrote a letter of recommendation under Harry's new false name James Granger, join a small-time lab to keep a somewhat steady income. Living in New York was far from cheap, but Harry figured if he could lay low awhile, things would blow over. Who knows? If New York was comfortable enough, he might even stay in the Big Apple.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Standing amidst the pile of rubble in Staten Island stood Nick Fury on the phone and another woman. She wore a standard S.H.I.E.L.D body suit and had her hair back in a ponytail. On her cheek was a small gash from escaping the imploding base. The Tesseract, the small cube of power S.H.I.E.L.D had been experimenting with, had gone haywire. That along with Loki, the brother of Thor of Asgard, caused the entire facility to fall apart. Loki was an odd person, with slicked-back hair and walked around with authority. He was sly, tricky, and manipulative with his words. Along with that, he obtained some kind of scepter with a gem made of the same material as the Tesseract, allowing to take control of both their top scientist on the project as well as one of their own agents.

The woman looked extremely worried. Among the staff of S.H.I.E.L.D, who knows how many were injured in this disaster, and she didn't even want to think about those who suffered worse fates.

Fury talked into his phone, saying, "Coulson, get back to base. This is a level seven. As of right now we are at war."

The woman asked him, "What do we do?"

"Agent Hill, we're starting the Avengers Initiative."

"Who are we calling on?"

"Whoever we can, get Coulson to make some phone calls, and pull in a satellite, there's people we need to find."

Miles away, Harry Potter awoke with a start. Something had attempted to break into his wards. The force itself was quite powerful, and while it didn't destroy his wards, it definitely woke him up. Faintly, he wondered whether other wizards would have felt that, only to remember the Declaration of Absolute Secrecy. Based on what it did, regular magic couldn't break the wards they had imposed on themselves, and if this wave didn't break his wards, it definitely wouldn't have even made a scratch in theirs.

Harry frowned, wishing he had his friends with him to figure out what to do.

'_This is ridiculous,'_ Harry thought to himself, _'I haven't thought about them for the longest time, and then Nick Fury had to bring back all the memories back to the forefront.'_

Focusing back on the problem at hand, Harry wondered what could trigger his wards like that. He couldn't just leave it be, but at the same time, he didn't know what he could do. Suddenly though, Harry bolted upright.

"Magic always leaves traces," Harry said, reciting the lesson Dumbledore had taught him back at the Horcrux cave.

He closed his eyes and let his mind focus in on the same feeling the wave of magic left on him. Turning around in a 360 degree fashion, Harry looked absolutely foolish, but he didn't care. Stopping in his turn, Harry narrowed his eyes.

Using a common sense of direction, Harry figured out the general bearing of the mysterious force's source. He booted up his computer and took a look at the map from his studio apartment in that same direction following a straight line with his finger and his eyes widened at the implications.

'_This is ridiculous,'_ Harry thought, _'I don't need to worry about this. S.H.I.E.L.D can handle it themselves. I don't need to worry about this stuff.'_

'_But it's like magic. It could be your way back into the magical world.'_

'_Is it really that important that I go back? To a world that won't let me rest?'_

'_But they're your home, and you miss everyone in it. Besides, I know you want to slap them in the face for what they're doing, hiding from muggles. Anyway, it's not like the muggle world lets you rest either.'_

'_They're leaving me alone though. I can do what I want!'_

'_Tell that to S.H.I.E.L.D, you know they're going to try to call on you again.'_

'_I'm not some superhero out to save the world.'_

'_But you can do it, that's the thing. Why stand BY when you HAVE the ability to stand UP and fight for what's right?'_

'_Bloody hell, that was cheesy.'_

"What am I doing?" Harry said aloud, "I'm going through a mental argument with myself. I'm going bloody insane."

Harry fell back into bed. He had the choice to do what he wanted. Lying there, he just stared at the ceiling of his room. Thinking back to his friends, he wondered what they would do in his situation. Ron and Ginny would just follow him and have his back at every corner. Hermione would probably try to form some kind of organization to fight it… like the Avengers. Dumbledore, wherever he is now, would probably do it for the _Greater Good_.

Harry sat up and rested his head on his palms. The wizarding world was scared right now, and Harry had scoffed at that. But was he doing any better? During the war, people succeeded because they were willing to stand up. He himself succeeded because he stood up against Voldemort and his dark reign. Yet, here he was, on the brink of another bloody war, and Harry was just sitting there, letting it go by. How could he complain about the wizarding world being afraid when he was just as afraid as them by not doing anything? Even if he wanted to go back into the wizarding world and see his friends again, he would never be able to face them if he let this current war run its course without stepping in. Regardless of whether or not others like him hid in fear, his friends would never allow him to do the same. To be honest, Harry wouldn't allow himself to stand by either once he thought about it.

But it wasn't because he was the boy-who-lived, saving wizards and witches everywhere by being born. It wasn't because he some Chosen One, prophesized to defeat a dark lord. It was because he was Harry Potter, someone who cared about others as human beings, as friends, as family. It was because he was just Harry, a person who helped because he could.

It was because he was going to be an Avenger, just another person trying to save the world and make it better.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Coulson," the voice of Nick Fury commanded from the phone.

"Sir," Coulson replied, "What is it?"

"We need the Avengers. Get Agent Romanoff back from Russia, get her up to date with the situation and… about Barton. On her way back, make her go get Dr. Banner as well. We'll provide the necessary files on the way."

"Dr. Banner, sir? Are you sure that's wise?" Coulson asked.

"Agent, we are in a very dangerous situation. We need all the manpower that we can get, including from the doctor. His gamma ray work is just as important as well."

"Of course, sir."

Fury continued, "I need you to get Mr. Stark on board too. I'll send you the data files for that. Finally… yes Ms. Hill?"

Coulson tapped his foot impatiently as Director Fury talked to Agent Hill.

"…You found him? Of course he was in plain sight. Man is a curious being and Potter would never leave it alone with his personality anyway. Alright, go finish the preparations Agent Hill. Agent Coulson!"

"Yes Director," Coulson replied, wondering why they were talking about Harry Potter.

"Along with Mr. Stark, go pick up Mr. Harry Potter as well. He's in the same area of New York. I'll send you the details along with a file to give to him," Fury explained.

A light ping rang from his phone, alerting Coulson of an incoming message containing the details of Tony's and Harry's location. Phil Coulson looked confused, not that Fury could see it.

"Why Harry, sir? He's just a civilian."

"I don't have time to explain, just go get files and bring them to base. Now," Fury ordered, closing the line.

Phil sighed. This was going to be a long day.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Going up the elevator to Stark Tower, Agent Coulson sighed impatiently. Dealing with Stark was always the same, with Stark being dismissive and annoying. Usually, though, Phil didn't mind, but he was pressed for time.

"Stark, we need to talk," Phil said into his phone.

"You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message," Tony's annoyed voice emanated from the phone.

"This is urgent," said Phil.

"Then leave it urgently," Tony replied.

This was extremely frustrating and getting him nowhere. As the elevator door opened, he saw Tony Stark, hair clean although a bit ruffled with his somehow-extremely-popular facial hair in its usual places. He wore regular clothing, including a black long-sleeve. Phil could still see the glowing core Tony had on him through the shirt though. Next to him stood Pepper Potts, his glorified secretary and not-so-secret girlfriend, in a white blouse with her long, straight, ginger hair let loose.

"Security breach. That's on you," Tony said, pointing at Pepper.

"Mr. Stark," Phil replied.

"Phil! Come in," Pepper said with a smile, completely ignoring Tony's rude remark.

"I can't stay," said Phil.

"Uh… I thought his first name was Agent," Tony chimed in.

"Come on in, we're celebrating," Pepper insisted, still skillfully ignoring Tony.

"Which is why he can't stay," Tony said.

Phil took out a digital file and handed it to Tony.

"I don't like being handed things," he said in reply.

"That's alright," Pepper said, butting in, "cause I love to be handed things. So let's trade."

Taking one more sip of her drink, she handed it to Phil in exchange for the file, and then promptly switched the file for Tony's drink. Phil smirked. That woman was the only person who could handle all of Stark's comments in stride and still manage to control him at the same time.

"Thank you," Phil said.

"Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday," Tony said.

Phil rolled his eyes, saying, "This isn't a consultation."

"Is this about the Avengers?" Pepper asked curiously.

Seeing the amused look on Phil's face, Pepper finished by saying, "Which I… I know nothing about."

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought," Tony said, only slightly intrigued, which was a feat for him, "and I didn't even qualify."

"I didn't know that either," Pepper added in while busying herself.

"Yeah, apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, don't play well with others…"

"That I did know," Pepper smiled.

Phil let himself relax a little bit at the playful banter before coming back to business.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," he said.

"Whatever. Miss Potts, got a sec?" Tony asked.

Phil took a small sip of the drink while waiting patiently for the two to talk. He could see Tony opening up the file and displaying it on his multiple screens. It contained all of the information of the different Avengers Fury wanted to bring together. He could see her whispering something into Tony's ear as well.

'_Wait for it… Wait for it…'_ Phil thought to himself.

Upon seeing Tony smile brightly and immediately start typing away, Phil smirked, _'Yep, called it. Women. Quite possibly one of the deadliest weapons in the world.'_

"Hey Coulson," Tony called out, "Who's this guy?"

Pepper, on her way, turned around and looked interestedly. Tony pulled up one person's file to the middle screen, enlarged it, and reflected it back around so everyone could see it. It was the profile of Harry Potter.

"I've heard of everyone on this list, except for him, and this file is extremely vague," Tony said, "I don't like vague. Unless it's coming from me."

Coulson looked at the report. He hadn't had time to see himself on the way here, but the profile itself was, as Tony said, vague. It had his full name, Harry James Potter, a picture of him when he was around seventeen or eighteen, and listed Britain as his home. It also said his recent exploits as a street magician and researcher back in Los Angeles. Apparently, while he wasn't a very important researcher, he was gaining notoriety for his works in the team.

"I have no clue. I met the guy once down in New Mexico. He's pretty smart; we called his research team in for a project there. Seemed nice, if a bit closed off. Gave Fury an earful though, if the pissed off look on Fury's face meant anything after their conversation. Seemed like a normal guy to me though, so I have no clue why he wants him for the Avengers," Phil explained.

"No flying, no missiles, no laser beams out of his eyes, no scary green monster, no anything?" Tony asked.

"Nope. He doesn't even appear to have any of the special training Barton or Romanoff have either."

"Maybe he's there for intelligence," Pepper said, coming back to the screen and looking closely at his profile.

"Pepper, do you really think he's there for intelligence? I mean come on, they have me. Plus, they have Dr. Banner, even if his genius is only outweighed by the green thing in him. That's enough overkill, mentally and physically."

"You can never have too many people in these situations perhaps," Coulson said.

"For some reason, the huge chunk of his life before 1998 is completely redacted from this file," Pepper noticed while reading the file, "And he was missing for 8 years. I thought S.H.I.E.L.D heard and saw everything. How's he completely under the radar?"

"You're asking the wrong person Miss Potts, only the Director knows any more details on this guy. For some reason, he's very tight-lipped about him. Well… more tight-lipped than he usually is," Phil replied.

Come on, the guy _was _Nick Fury.

He continued, "Anyway, Mr. Stark, I'll leave that to you. I'm off to actually find Mr. Potter myself. He's in the area apparently."

Without another word, Coulson placed the drink down, turned into the elevator, and left. After a few more minutes of terse talking, Pepper left as well, leaving Tony to do his work.

"Harry Potter, huh? Who the hell is this guy?" Tony muttered to himself.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Phil followed the coordinates on his phone to an apartment just outside the edge of Manhattan. Looking up from the phone, he saw a large apartment building, and standing in front was Harry Potter, packed and ready.

"Took you long enough," Harry smirked.

"What the- How?" Coulson asked, utterly bewildered.

Pointing to his head, Harry said knowingly, "I knew."

Walking towards Coulson's car, Harry continued, "Besides, you guys are S.H.I.E.L.D, it shouldn't take you that long to find me if I make myself known."

Phil unlocked the door for Harry and got in on the driver's side.

"What made you change your mind? If you don't mind me asking?" Phil continued.

"Those damn moments of deep thought and inner monologues," Harry growled out.

Coulson waited for him to continue, but Harry remained silent after that.

"Fine, don't tell me. That's cool too. Before we head to the base, we need to pick up someone first," said Phil.

"Oh really? Who?" Harry asked.

Phil broke out into a wide grin, "My favorite superhero ever. Captain America."

"Who's Captain America?" Harry asked.

Harry had heard about Captain America once or twice from some of the older colleagues reminiscing about the past and when Iron Man came into existence, but never put stock in it being true. It seemed more like a child's bedtime story or something from the old World War days.

"Who's Captain America? Who's Capt-," Phil spluttered.

Immediately he went on a whole tirade about who Captain America was in excruciating detail. While he was grateful that Coulson didn't ask about his abilities yet, Harry groaned inwardly. Of course he'd be saddled with the one thing just as bad, if not worse, than a fangirl.

A fanboy.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"We are a forty-minute out from home base, sir," the pilot told Agent Coulson.

Harry was sitting there with Phil, who was completely gushing over Captain America. The man in question was an interesting person. He looked very tall with a muscular build and blond hair. Yet, despite his large presence, he seemed to be very kind, humble, and meek, something Harry didn't expect. As Phil and the Captain, known as Steve Rogers, continued to talk, Harry took the chance to read through the file he received from Coulson. It had detailed reports on the Avengers.

Steve Rogers surprised Harry, because he too was lost in time, but even more so. It said here that he was injected with a super serum that granted him the abilities of a superhuman, with enhanced strength, speed, everything. In short, he was the perfect athlete and soldier. He had served in a war almost 65 years ago and upon the defeat a terrorist group known as HYDRA, saved America by directing a ship filled with bombs into icy waters, sacrificing himself. He ended up freezing himself and through the super serum, managed to stay alive, albeit frozen in time, until S.H.I.E.L.D dug him out of the ice just a short while ago.

Dr. Banner was an absolute genius. Before he disappeared off the face of the Earth supposedly, Harry had read some of his research and was quite frankly amazed. Dr. Bruce Banner knew science and breathed it, but his exposure to gamma radiation in an attempt to create a super serum like the one used on Captain America proved to be his downfall. When angered, he would turn into a huge green monster with amazing strength, but not a lot of control. According to his latest psych profile, he also seemed a bit withdraw, although Harry expected that with the events in his life.

Tony Stark was… Tony Stark. Harry had an impression from him on television, but this made sense. It explained some of the origin behind Iron Man and the small arc reactor, which was a powerful electric generator. Harry winced at the incident with the Ten Rings forcing him to become a superhero like that, but at the same time, some sympathy was lost as he read about Stark's amazing career as a billionaire, albeit also a philanthropist. Also, from what he saw on TV, Stark was very showy, obnoxious, arrogant, and seemed to make all the stereotypes of rich people true. But Harry could see how Stark could be an asset to the team, both on and off the field.

Thor was the brother of Loki, the current enemy they were dealing with. They didn't have much on him, but apparently he was a demi-god. Harry was interested in that, because as gods, he figured they must be omnipotent, but at the moment, that was a side project he didn't have time to deal with. Thor had the ability to control lighting and utilize a hammer only he could wield, called Mjolnir. He also spoke in an old tongue which apparently made him hard to understand. Harry sped through the file though. It seemed like he wouldn't be seeing Thor as he was worlds away in a place called Asgard.

Then, there was Agent Romanoff known as the Black Widow. Harry figured she must have some superpower, but surprisingly, she didn't. Still, she was a deadly force to be reckoned with, having training in different styles of fighting, different languages, and espionage and assassination. Her past wasn't a happy one though. It seemed as if her father Drakoff was less than stellar, and she had some tie-ins with the KGB and some Russian undesirables. She was involved in many incidents both as a S.H.I.E.L.D and before she was one. Harry frowned a bit, it seems like she did speak from experience.

Finally, there was her partner, Agent Clint Barton, known as Hawkeye. He was the S.H.I.E.L.D agent that fell under Loki's control during the attack at the research facility. He was like Agent Romanoff and didn't have superpowers. He did, however, have a keen eye and was the best marksman in the world. Barton was a very confident person, according to his profile, and would not back down for much. He also worked a lot with Agent Romanoff to the point where they were considered partners. Harry was interested to see what they both could do, despite their lack of powers.

"So, who are you?" Captain America asked, finally able to get Coulson to simmer down.

"Me? I'm Harry Potter," Harry said.

Steve shook his head, "I know that. I read your file. What I want to know is, what are you capable of? What are your motivations? Your file is very… sparse compared to the rest of ours. On this team, you're the biggest unknown out of all of us, and that's saying something considering how the team has never met up altogether once."

"I'd rather not explain right now when I'd just have to repeat myself. Can you wait until we meet up with everyone?" Harry asked, looking down at the file some more.

Steve crossed his arm and frowned at Harry's attitude, but gave up, knowing he could not get this person to talk. He had barely said anything the entire plane ride, and it seemed to Steve that Harry was the type of person to keep to himself. First impressions could be wrong, but the Captain didn't want to cause discord within the team already, and simply sat there waiting to get to base.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The ship they boarded was huge. People were coming in and out of rooms, constantly working. It held hundreds of people and seemed to be made of reinforced, yet light, metal, with fighter jets on deck, and equipment everywhere. When they got into the large ship, Coulson left them in the hands of Agent Romanoff, who apparently had gotten back from Russia.

"Natasha," Harry said with a nod.

"Harry," Natasha responded in kind, "Hello Captain. I'm Agent Natasha Romanoff. There was quite a buzz around here, finding you in the ice. I thought Coulson was gonna swoon. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards yet?"

The captain blinked, "Trading Cards?"

"They're vintage, he's very proud."

Steve simply walked on, stunned, before waking out of his stupor and asking with an eyebrow raised, "So you guys are on first name terms?"

"Kind of," Natasha said, "I met him once. Tried to seduce him. Failed. Talked a bit and left."

"And that's what leads to first-name terms?" Steve asked skeptically.

"Yep," she said as they walked into the main control room.

There, Harry and Steve met with Dr. Banner and exchanged pleasantries. Apparently, the gamma radiation Dr. Banner dealt with in his life would also help S.H.I.E.L.D find the Tesseract, which also gave out a large amount of the same radiation. Harry felt sorry for the man; the irony was killer, almost literally.

What Harry and the other new passengers saw next made their jaws drop. The ship… wasn't a ship anymore. Turbines began to spin and extend outwards, forming propellers that pushed the vessel into the air. Then, to Harry's even greater surprised, they activated some kind of cloaking device that turned the entire ship invisible, using reflectors to show the image of the other side. An amazing piece of technology, and it was an even greater sight to behold.

"Doctor," Fury turned to Dr. Banner, "thank you for coming."

"Thanks for asking nicely," Dr. Banner retorted, "So, uh… how long am I staying?"

Fury explained, "Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"Where are you with that?"

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, its eyes and ears for us."

"So that's how you found me so easily," Harry mused out loud.

Dr. Banner responded, "Ah, so they got you too, did they?"

"Unfortunately," Harry said, glaring at Fury.

"Anyway," Banner continued, "That's not going to find them in time. You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?" Fury asked.

Harry continued to look incredulous at this. He knew S.H.I.E.L.D was a large organization, but this was absolutely ridiculous. Then again, he supposed if they could tap into wireless things so easily, they should have access to some spectrometers.

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition," Dr. Banner commanded, "At least we can rule out a few places. Do you have anywhere for me to work?"

Fury turned to Natasha, "Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory please."

Natasha nodded, saying, "You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

When Harry heard that, he couldn't stop a childish gleam from leaping into his eyes. Despite his reluctance about the whole Avengers Initiative, he couldn't help but want to join in on the search for the Tesseract. It was an unknown, something he could study. Clearly isolation made him sound more like Hermione. Dr. Banner saw that look and immediately recognized it as coming from a fellow scientist. He would've asked Harry if he wanted to join, but Dr. Banner wasn't prepared for the risks from the Other Guy.

Harry could only watch disappointedly as the two of them left towards the lab. Turning to Fury, however, Harry was all business.

"So _Director_, what do you want us to do?" Harry asked, pointing to himself and Captain America.

"Coulson, take Captain America on a tour. I need to speak to Mr. Potter for a second," Fury ordered.

Nodding, the two of them left. Fury then led Harry to an isolated room and closed the doors, making sure no one could hear them.

"Alright Potter, you need to figure out what to do, because no one knows your abilities better than you," Fury explained to Harry, "You already know I took out all the information on magic off the file, and the only person who knows about it on the ship are you and me. You're the last wizard, so the same rules don't apply."

Harry nodded. He figured that was the case after reading the file.

"You can choose to tell the others or not, it's up to you. Potter, you're the only one who can determine your position and potential as a member of the Avengers. You're here for a reason, so I'm sure you can make the right decision. If you want, you can do nothing for all I know. But I know that you won't do that."

"I'm not going to make any promises, but I'll try to help where I can," Harry responded.

"Good choice. I don't know where to place you because I don't know how much potential magic has, so you decide that on your own. I know you wizards don't have that much physical training though, although you must have something to survive the war. Still, don't expect to get out in the field too much unless there's some kind of emergency or until you've had more training. I don't want you breaking your arm so you can't use magic or something," Fury smirked.

Hearing that, Harry frowned. It was another case of someone underestimating him, but Harry couldn't argue with it. After seeing people like Natasha and the Captain, Harry knew he wasn't at their level physically. He could still handle himself on the field though. However, as he was about to argue, Fury's phone went off.

"Yes…? Found something? Okay," Fury said.

Harry looked at Fury questioningly, "Don't worry about it, do what you want. I'll get the Captain on it."

"But…" Harry started, but the Director had already left, dialing another number which he assumed was for Phil.

With a grunt, Harry followed behind him into the main room. On the other side, Steve and Phil were heading back as well.

"We got a hit. Sixty-seven percent match. Weight, cross-match, seventy-nine percent," one of the agents exclaimed.

"Location?" Fury grunted.

"Stuttgart, Germany. 28, Canning Strasse."

Harry muttered to himself, "This way too easy. Why would he let himself be seen like that when he could easily hide his appearance or something? It's like he wants to be seen."

"Well, he's not exactly hiding," Fury said, "Captain, you're up."

Steve nodded and followed Agent Romanoff to the plane. Harry followed them with his eyes before promptly walking off.

"Now Mr. Potter…" Fury said, turning around.

He raised an eyebrow. Somehow, Harry had pulled a fast one on him and went somewhere, probably sneaking on the plane. Fury sighed. That was another thing to add to the file: disappears suddenly.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry had pulled out his invisibility cloak and followed along behind Steve and Natasha into the plane. Staying quiet and out of the way, Harry managed to get in without any suspicion as they launched into the air. As soon as they reached the site, Captain America jumped out. Harry moved behind Natasha to get a better look at the situation. On the ground below was a crowd of kneeling people, all fearful of the powerful Loki, who wielded the scepter, but the old man stood up regardless and was about to be killed. Luckily, Captain America got to the ground in time and blocked the stab with his spear.

Harry let out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding and immediately, he felt the front-end of a gun pressed against his stomach.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" Natasha yelled out.

Gulping, Harry quickly pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it back in his pocket, saying, "Natasha! Calm down! It's me!"

"Harry?" Natasha asked, sparing a quick glance at the mirror to see, "How the hell did you get here without us knowing and why the hell are you here in the first place?"

"I'll tell you later," Harry said hurriedly, "It doesn't look like the captain is faring well."

"What the?" Natasha turned around, "Wow, the guy's all over the place."

Suddenly, she heard a whirring sound. She looked in the mirror and was surprised to see that Harry was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was met with the sound of the plane's door opening.

"Harry?" she asked.

She got no response except the wind rushing in.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**A/N:** So yeah, I tried to get this chapter out fast because I found out that I needed one more chapter to set up Harry meeting the team... or some of them, before any real action could start. So... sorry for all the dialogue sprouting (and some of the reiteration of pertinent movie scenes, those lines are obviously not mine, but from what I could remember from the movie). But, as you can see from the ending, some action's really going to be starting up now. Hopefully I'll have a chapter out by the end of the weekend, if I'm lucky enough to have the time, but at least I got this one out fast (honestly, I really wanted to get all of the exposition stuff out of the way. There's still a bit left, but the biggest portion of it is done).

Also, all this speculation about the wizarding world, I love it! But just remember that details are going to be coming out slowly about that situation because they're completely under wraps by their own wards, which is layer over layer, and the main focus is on the current conflict with Loki and the Chitauri. This means that the wave from the Tesseract in this chapter isn't going to make them realize anything yet either, because it was still relatively weak compared to the thick wards wizards and witches have laid upon their location over time to make sure muggles wouldn't be able to find them. Whereas Harry's wards were only for alerting him if something big happened and were considerably weaker than the combined efforts of myriads of wizards and witches.

Thanks for the reviews and hope to see you all soon!


	4. Chapter 4

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Minutes before, Harry distracted Natasha by pointing at the plight Steve was in. The Captain was undoubtedly powerful and skilled, but right now, he was dealing with forces he couldn't even hope to fathom. Even Harry feared whether or not he could fathom it himself, considering the potential within the Tesseract, and the scepter Loki had was made of the same material. However, silently, Harry opened the door, and while the loud whirring sound would inevitably catch the attention of Natasha, he had already jumped off into the crowd of people below.

It was almost exhilarating, going back into the field and fighting for something. It had been five years since he actually fought using magic, and he could already feel the magic coursing throughout his body, waiting to be released.

'_Aresto momentum!'_ Harry thought in his mind.

Immediately, his descent slowed to a halt, right as Loki was about to stab at Steve with his scepter. Raising his hand, Harry focused on his purpose, to protect Captain America, and immediately cast a Banishing Charm with a quick _depulso._

Loki, caught off guard by the sudden intrusion, barely had time to turn around before he was flown backwards against one of the statues. Quickly, Harry conjured up a simple white mask that covered the upper part of his face, with only two small holes for the eyes. He looked like a misguided teen trying to relive his trick-or-treating days, but Harry just did not want his face plastered on television.

"Are you alright Captain?" Harry asked, as the mask formed on his face.

Bewildered, Steve could only nod as he tried to understand what just happened. It was as if an invisible force had pushed Loki away from him right before impact. Besides that though, how on earth did Harry get here in the first place? Where did he get the mask? What on earth was he doing when he was just a civilian?

Harry couldn't help but grin a little, saying, "I know you have a few questions, but I think we have more important things to worry about at the moment."

"Quite right," a voice sounded from right behind Harry.

Without turning around, Harry already knew it was Loki. He had seen the scepter in action against Captain America, and while Harry still didn't know it full potential, he wasn't surprised by the teleporting.

Loki smirked as he reared the scepter back to pierce the odd intruder, seeing the young man begin to turn around to look at his adversary. Perhaps for the last time before he was run through. The demi-god wasn't sure where this young man came from, or what mysterious force pushed him away from the Captain, but Loki knew this person was more trouble than he was worth. As the scepter rushed forward, however, it only met empty air as a loud _crack_ resounded throughout the area.

Blinking, Loki took a second to get a bearing of what happened. As the young man turned around, he vanished. Looking around Loki finally saw him, standing next to the Captain, hands calmly by his side.

Loki snarled and prepared for a second attack, raising his scepter, only to be met with a large aircraft with turrets pointing at him.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Natasha's voice rang out from the aircraft.

His grin only grew wider as he charged his scepter. A bright blue ball of light grew from the tip of his scepter and suddenly shot out at Captain America. The man in stars and stripes raised his trademark shield in defense. Closing his eyes and bracing for impact, he waited there, only to feel nothing.

Steve looked up and saw Harry's hand raised out in front of him. In the air, he could hear the faint whisper of two foreign words.

"_Protego Maxima."_

Harry stood there, using his other hand as support against the powerful force from the same vein as the Tesseract. In front of Harry and the Captain, where Harry's hand was, stood the blast, suspended in the air in front of Harry. In front of the blast, however, Steve could see a lightly tinged layer of blue between the blast and Harry's hand, impeding its progress. The blast tried to drill forward, but it could not and instead dissolved into the shield. Closing his fingers together, the shield broke into pieces in a burst of bright blue light.

Everyone who witnessed it could only open their mouths and gape like a school of fish. Natasha and Steve could not believe their minds. The civilian, the relative unknown, the quiet member of the team, had taken on a powerful blast from Loki and brushed it off like nothing. Even Loki stared in awe for a few seconds before shaking his head and forcing himself out of his stupor.

"And who might you be?" Loki asked, standing his scepter up as a staff, almost as if trying to create normal conversation.

"No one important," Harry said, a bit winded from blocking the attack, "Just another person trying to make sure you don't harm innocents."

"Ah, British," Loki smirked, "Tell me, what is a British man like you doing with S.H.I.E.L.D's riff raff?"

Instead of responding, however, Harry darted forward as he raised his hand, casting a silent _expelliarmus._Loki saw the bright red light and immediately raised his scepter in defense. Harmlessly, the red beam dispersed and the demi-god grinned. Harry groaned at the sight. This would not be as easy as he thought. Apparently the scepter could deflect basic spells easily. He should've expected that, since it was powered by the Tesseract, an anomaly in itself.

"Oh look, we have a fighter here," Loki exclaimed sarcastically, "Care for a spar then?"

Harry grunted, preferring to save his energy for the battle. However, Harry saw the situation he was in. The problem wasn't that he couldn't fight Loki; it was fighting without any collateral damage. With the small enclosed space they were in, Harry had to make sure he fought without using his wide-area or heavy-hitting spells; otherwise he could hit a civilian. Before Harry could do anything else, however, his decision was made for him.

As Natasha looked at the scene from above, she heard an incoming message.

"Agent Romanoff, did you miss me?" the voice of Tony Stark asked.

Smirking, she sat at the controls as the crimson and gold suited superhero flew from elsewhere. He was completely armored with his Iron Man suit and the glowing core powering him up.

Raising his palm up, Iron Man shot an energy blast at Loki as he flew down from above. Loki was quick to dodge and retaliate on his own. Tony Stark had an advantage, however. He could fly. Dodging and weaving, Tony held up his palm repulsors and shot at the scepter in Loki's hands, making him lose his grip on it as the scepter flew away.

Holding his palm out threateningly once again, Tony said, "Make your move, Reindeer Games."

Loki quietly held up in hands in defeat. Seeing this, Harry frowned. Loki was not nearly using all of his potential with the scepter when he attacked Iron Man. He could have teleported and shot again, or even blasted the energy shot away with the Tesseract's own shots. Iron Man's attacks were generated energy from technology, but the scepter used pure energy from the Tesseract, which could have easily equaled Tony's current arsenal. Loki's blast on Harry's shield was a lot stronger than what he shot at Iron Man. While it wasn't terrible, it was still a very powerful blast that required a bit of power to block and destroy.

Tony landed on the ground next to Captain America.

"Good move," Tony said, smirking behind his mask.

"Mr. Stark," Steve said, almost tersely.

"Captain," Tony replied before looking at Harry, "Who's the Phantom of the Opera rip-off?"

Harry groaned. Clearly Iron Man was a person who lacked tack, and appreciation for masks.

"The last member of the team," Steve responded, "The one no one knew about."

"Oh really?" Tony said sarcastically, "And what are you supposed to be? Your file was mysteriously empty."

"We'll talk in the ship," Harry said tersely, still troubled by Loki's motivations.

He moved towards the scepter and began to grab it, only to be stopped by Iron Man, who flew forward to meet him.

"And what's your issue?" Harry asked, irritated.

"Sorry, but I have no clue who you are, and that thing is dangerous. Why don't you let the big boys handle this until you decide to tell us who you are," Tony said, distrustful of the new guy.

"Fine," Harry said.

Without another word, Harry walked into the airship.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

An awkward and tense silence filled the ship once everyone boarded. Loki sat in the back while Steve, Tony, and Natasha were around in the front. Harry chose to simply stay in the shadows, leaning against the walls of the aircraft.

Breaking it, Steve muttered, "I don't like it."

"What?" Tony said with his sarcastic tone, "Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being this easy," Steve said, ignoring Tony's comment, "This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you were pretty spry, for an older fellow," Tony said, almost snidely, "What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?" Steve asked, bewildered.

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple of things," Tony said, not being able to stop his mouth, "you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

Harry could tell Captain America, despite his usual calm, patient demeanor, was quickly losing his patience. He could only shake his head. As much as he wanted to get back into the saving-the-world business, he knew this team would be very dysfunctional. By themselves, everyone was amazing with their own merits and abilities, but together, they were warring personalities.

Sighing, Harry butted in, "That's enough you two. Didn't Fury say we're supposed to be a team? Not creating arguments with each other."

"Yeah, well there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you too," Tony responded.

Harry tried to keep his patience in check, but couldn't help but say, "And I suppose he tells you everything?"

"Well, I certainly know more than the rest of you do," he said.

"That's it," Harry said, pushing himself off the wall.

Steve stood there, surprised at Harry's outburst. He was already annoyed with the billionaire, but he had held it in. The last thing he expected was to have the silent member of the team become riled up by Stark.

"What are you gonna do?" Tony said, as if trying to rile him up more.

Tony began a staring contest with Harry, which was going to be his mistake. Harry stared directly into Tony's eyes and began the incantation to his spell.

"_Legi-,_" Harry began before the aircraft rattled, braking his connection.

"Where's this coming from?" Natasha muttered, trying to maintain her control over the ship.

Harry looked over at Loki and saw his apprehensive face. In fact, it was probably the most afraid the demi-god had ever been this entire time. Apparently, Tony noticed the same thing.

"What's the matter?" Tony asked with a smirk, "Scared of a little lightning?"

Loki looked at the man and merely answered, "I'm not overly fond of what follows."

Suddenly, the aircraft jostled violently, even more than the winds that buffered the ship. With a loud thud, something landed on top. Or more likely, someone. Harry immediately raised his hands in preparation for an attack.

With a loud smash, the top of the ship was smashed by a large hammer. If the situation wasn't so dangerous, Harry would have thought the entire thing ridiculous because of how small the hammer was. Yet, despite the hammer's size, a large, gaping hole opened from above before someone dropped in.

The man was rugged, with dirty, tangled blond locks and a billowing maroon cape. He wore armor and had a look of authority about him. Harry immediately recognized the man as Thor Odinson from the file". Immediately, then, Harry made the connection to the name of the hammer, Mjolnir, and the powers it held. Without a second glance, Thor moved towards Loki, completely manhandled him like a package, and jumped out of the ship the same way he came.

"And now there's that guy," Tony said dully, putting his mask back on.

"Another Asgardian?" Natasha asked.

Steve, on the other hand, wondered, "Think the guy's a friendly?"

Tony, from within the suit, said, "Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the Tesseract's lost."

Moving towards the exit, Tony opened up the back door. Steve looked at Tony as if he were insane.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!" Steve yelled over the rushing wind.

"I have a plan," Tony said, turning around, "Attack."

With that, Iron Man rushed down behind Thor, thrusters boosting behind him. Right as Tony left, Steve went towards the parachutes and began to wear it.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap," Natasha said, seeing what he was about to do.

Steve replied, "I don't see how I can."

Natasha explained, "These guys come from legends, they're basically Gods."

"There's only one God ma'am," Steve said as he positioned himself in front of the door, "And I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

Harry rolled his eyes.

"That was too bloody cliché," Harry said, "The superhero jumping with some epic line."

Harry walked towards the entrance.

"And what do you plan to do?" Natasha asked, already knowing what he was about to do, "I don't know what else to expect from you after that crazy show down there."

'_Should I?'_Harry pondered, _'Eh, why not?'_

Right before he jumped out of the plane, Harry said, "All you need to expect from me is to expect the unexpected."

Natasha couldn't help but chuckle a little at that. She already knew there would be no point in stopping him when he already did it once. Besides, whatever he could do, it was enough to push Loki to a standstill. Surely, he could handle a few more people.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

As Harry dropped down from the plane, he could see the two brothers having a conversation, which he was sure would lead to a heated argument and fight. On the way down, he rocketed past Captain America as well, who appeared to release his parachute. With a quick wave and a smirk, Harry landed on the ground with a soft thud after using _aresto momentum_to slow his descent.

He could hear Thor say, "Listen well, my brother."

Just as he heard that, however, he also heard a rushing noise behind him. Ducking, Iron Man flew right above him and into Thor, pushing him away.

"I'm listening," Loki said with a smirk.

Worrying about what the two could do to each other, Harry hurried after them. Loki immediately saw the mysterious man that had taken on the power of the Tesseract head on and was about to try and engage him in conversation. Right as Loki was about to open his mouth, however, Harry raised his finger and pointed it at the prisoner, casting a silent_petrificus totalus._

Suddeny, Loki felt his arms and legs begin to lock up into a rigid stance. He tried his best to fight it, as he could feel his arms and legs trembling to resist the odd affliction. Loki grunted, before finally giving up and letting himself lay stuck in a board-like position.

'_Who is this man and why does he have so much power?'_ Loki mused, figuring there was not much else he could at the moment, _'He simply does not make sense.'_

Meanwhile, Harry continued run towards the duo, seeing the two engage in verbal warfare.

"Doth mother know you weareth her drapes?" he heard Tony tease Thor.

Harry shook his head. The man was completely insufferable. As much of a superhero as he was supposed to be, Iron Man was proving to be a very annoying person with a penchant for saying the wrong thing at almost all times.

"This is beyond you, metal man," Thor roared, "Loki will face Asgardian justice."

Equally as annoyed, Tony replied, "He gives up the cube and he's all yours. Until then, stay out of the way, tourist."

As Tony was saying that, Harry saw Thor preparing to throw his hammer at Iron Man. Groaning, Harry ran towards them, cursing his hero complex at the same time.

Thrusting his hand out in front of him towards the hammer, Harry yelled out, "_Depulso_!"

Mjolnir, hit by the spell, veered off course and into the dark, thick forest.

Tony could only gape at Harry at the sight. The mysterious member of the team had altered the entire world of physics by just raising his hand and pointing at the weapon. Even more than a weapon, it was a demi-god's weapon.

Thor was in the same state, wondering who this mysterious person was that commanded so much power. Unfortunately, however, Thor snapped out of it much faster than Tony. Reaching out with his hand, Mjolnir came rushing right back to him. This time, instead of throwing the weapon, however, Thor raised it as high as he could.

Thunder rumbled throughout the forest as lightning immediately struck where Thor was. Harry could barely look straight at the bright force of nature surrounding Thor and immediately raised his hand to cover his eyes by reflex. Iron Man saw Harry do that, and groaned internally, remembering that Harry still didn't have anything to cover his eyes like he did. The demi-god pointed the hammer at the defenseless man.

Tony, without thinking of himself, dashed forward in front of Harry and took the lightning strike. Hearing the loud noise, Harry casted a filter charm on his mask that protected his eyes from the bright light, something he should've done in the first place. Looking up, he saw the supposed damage done to Iron Man.

"Bloody hell!" he exclaimed.

Vaguely, he heard JARVIS say, "Power levels at 500%."

"You alright kid?" Tony groaned out.

"Who are you calling a kid?" Harry retorted, but quickly quieted, worrying about Tony's state.

With a grunt, Tony turned around and raised his arms and pointed the palm repulsors at the demi-god. Two large lasers charged and flew out, bigger than anything Tony had ever shot before, and hit Thor right in the chest.

Flying back, Thor eventually got his two feet to contact that ground and use it to regain balance. Then, by some combination of godly powers and the momentum of his hammer, Thor took his hammer and threw it forward, along with himself, and flew towards Iron Man. Upon seeing this, Tony immediately flew forward to meet him.

A crackling sound filled Tony's ears, however, and suddenly shocks flew throughout the suit. This forced him to hesitate a little, but that moment was enough for Thor's hammer to make contact with Tony, flinging him far off into the forest.

Flying away, Tony raised his hands high above his head like an Olympic diver and put all he could into his palm repulsors, slowing himself. When he slowed to a manageable speed, however, he also descended down into the ground. Hard. Sliding into the soil, he saw a deep, smoking trench dug in front of him from where the suit the landed to where he was currently.

"JARVIS, what the hell happened?" Tony groaned.

"Sir, apparently your short little conversation with Harry allowed the electricity from Thor's hammer to flow too much into your suit. You absorbed too much power, and when you failed to immediately discharge it, some of the internal circuitry was damaged."

"Damn it! How long will it take to get back to regular power?"

"Since you discharged all that energy, you should be back to normal right about now."

"Good," Tony said, powering up his thrusters again, "Let's hope we're not too late. I left Harry with that Victorian-era freak. Hopefully he can stand his ground long enough."

'_Because I don't care what you say,'_ Tony thought to himself, flying back, _'Potter looks way too scrawny to handle himself in a physical fight.'_

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The moment Tony had been launched away, Thor turned his attention towards Harry. Raising his hammer without another word, he summoned lightning once again.

"What's this guy's problem?" Harry muttered to himself, throwing up a shield to deflect the powerful lightning Thor summoned.

Seeing his lightning being deflected, Thor stared at the odd, young man. How did a mere human do things that seemed impossible for the race to do? He had never heard of any humans like this. Grunting, he shot forward with his hammer to attack Harry head on.

Eyes widening, Harry quickly ducked and rolled out of the way. As Thor pulled out of his attack, Harry took the chance to cast a stunning spell at the man.

"_STUPEFY!"_ Harry yelled out, as a red beam of light flew from his hand directly into Thor's chest.

Thor simply shook it off, wondering what on earth the light was for. Harry groaned. First of all, he couldn't hurt Thor because he was technically an ally. Even then, it seemed magic wouldn't be able to pierce the Asgardian armor Thor had on.

'_But if there's one thing I know, blocking magic and being attacked using magic are two different things,'_Harry thought to himself.

As Thor rushed forward once again, hammer first, Harry pointed at a nearby boulder, cast an Unbreakable Charm on it, and transfigured it. Breaking into tiny pieces and joining back together, the boulder became a dark gray golem, with a large boulder for the head and body and small rocks making the rest of its limbs. It was at least twice the size of Harry and stood protectively in front of him.

Animating it with his magic, he muttered, _"Piertotum Locomotor."_

Thor, unable to stop from the momentum, had his eyes wide open at the magical feat. This was something he did not expect at all, and when his hammer hit the now moving rock creature, he was flung back to the ground.

"Are you done now?" Harry asked impatiently, hoping that Loki had not broken the Body-Bind Curse yet.

"What are you?" Thor asked in wonder, "You are clearly not a human."

"You'd be surprised," Harry said, "I read a little bit about your file. You never had that much contact with humans until about a year ago, am I right?"

"Unfortunately, that is true."

"Then you wouldn't know much about-," Harry started.

Tony quickly barreled out of the forest, arms raised in preparation to attack.

"What the-? I came all the way back to save your butt and you two are just talking?" Tony exclaimed, before realizing the sight before him, "What on earth is that?"

"Ugh, don't worry about it," Harry said, exasperated about the entire misunderstanding, "Thor's going to come quietly with us and help us deal with situation."

Taking his hammer up again, Thor said, "And when did I ever say that?"

"Oh, you want to go another round? You Shakespearian tourist," Tony challeneged.

Suddenly, a rustling noise came from the bushes as Captain America popped out, saying, "That's enough!"

Looking at Thor, he continued, "Now, I don't know what you plan on doing here."

"I've come here to put an end to Loki's schemes!" Thor cried out indignantly.

"Then prove it. Put that hammer down," Steve commanded.

Tony frowned at the Captain's naiveness, "Uh… yep! Bad call! He loves his hammer!"

"You want me to put the hammer down?" Thor asked, anger creeping into his voice.

He jumped up and attempted to smash Steve with his hammer. Acting quickly, Steve raised his shield and blocked the attack, pushing Thor back down once again, just as Harry had moments before.

'_What are these humans capable of?'_ Thor thought as he got up again, shaking the dirt off of his armor.

"Are we done here?" Harry asked.

Blinking, Steve turned around, forgetting that Harry was also here.

"What is that?" Steve exclaimed, raising his shield again.

"Just ignore it," Harry said for what seemed like the umpteenth time.

Raising his hand and waving it over his transfigured creature, the golem fell apart into small rocks with a small thud.

"And what took you so long, Captain?" Harry asked teasingly as he walked back towards Loki.

"My… parachute got stuck," Steve said lamely.

"I see," Harry said, going to Loki, who he was happy to see was still stuck in the Body-Bind Curse.

"Brother!" Thor exclaimed from behind, running up to him, "What happened to you?"

"Look who decided to tag along," Tony muttered grumpily, still sore from the damage Thor did to him.

"Oh, sorry about that," Harry said, "Just had to make sure he didn't escape."

Waving his hand over Loki, the demi-god loosened up again and took a deep breath. As they walked back to the carrier, with Thor reluctantly following along, the others couldn't help but wonder what Harry was really capable of.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

When they got back to the facility, Fury put Loki immediately into a seemingly impenetrable cylindrical cell. Harry and the other Avengers, however, met up in a room, listening into the conversation between Loki and Directory Fury.

At the same time, though, Harry couldn't help but feel their eyes weren't on Loki so much as on him.

He could hear Loki tease the Avengers Initiative, saying, "How desperate are you? You call on all these lost creatures to defend you."

"Lost creatures, indeed," Harry muttered to himself, thinking about how out of place he was in the world even though he tried his best to settle in.

"He really grows on you, doesn't he?" Dr. Banner asked.

"Loki's going to drag this out," Steve deduced, "So, Thor, what's his play?"

Thor sighed and said, "He has an army called the Chitauri, that none of Asgard nor any world know. He means to lead them against your people. They will win him the earth. Return, I suspect, for the Tesseract."

"An army, from outer space," Steve said almost breathlessly.

"So he's building another portal," Dr. Banner mused, "That's what he needs Erik Selvig for."

Harry looked startled a little at this. A portal, almost like how he came to this time period, even though it didn't make sense that something like this would happen to him. What would the Tesseract have to do with the wizarding world, and more importantly, with the struggle Harry had with Lord Voldemort?

"Selvig?" Thor asked, recognizing the name.

"He's an astrophysicist," Dr. Banner said.

Thor said, "He's a friend."

"Loki has him under some kind of spell," Natasha said, adding distantly, "along with one of ours."

"A spell," Thor said, "almost like magic, wouldn't you say young Harry?"

Harry froze at that. Did Thor know something about him?

"I want to know why Loki let us take him," Steve butted in, always focusing on the main problem, "He's not leading an army from here."

"I don't think we should be focusing on Loki. That guy's brain is a bag full of cats. You could smell crazy on him," Dr. Banner said.

"Take care how you speak," Thor growled out, "Loki is beyond reason, but he is of Asgard, and he's my brother."

"He killed eighty people in two days," Natasha retorted.

"He's adopted," Thor said, shrugging his shoulders apologetically before continuing on, "What I'm more interested in right now is how one of the Old Folk came to join this group."

"Old Folk?" Dr. Banner asked sharply.

"Yes, ones who could wield magic and command the forces of the world on a whim," Thor said, "Ones who should have been hidden from the world of regular humans."

Harry didn't know what Thor meant by the Old Folk, but when Thor said things about keeping hidden, he knew it was referring to him.

"How did you find out?" Harry asked, standing up.

"Few can do what you do," Thor said, "And even among those who can, fewer have a mastery in battle as such. I may be new, but I have heard echoes in the halls of my father about your kind."

"Care to enlighten the rest of us?" a voice came from the door.

Tony stood there, dressed regularly and cleaned up from the fight. Coulson stood next to him, with some files in his hands.

"No hard feelings Point Break," Tony told Thor.

A flash of confusion ran across Thor's face before he shrugged and continued on.

"The Old Folk are humans who can do magic and command things that shouldn't be possible on earth," Thor said, "No one knows too much about them, even the gods, because they have kept to themselves for the most part, trying to keep from the machinations of the world and universe beyond them. This is why they are known as the Old Folk, ignorant of the advances of the world. No one knows their origins, the source of their power, or anything of the sort. Even in Asgard, the Old Folk are only known as such, humans with supernatural ability. Even we do not know the full extent of their strength. As long as they kept to themselves, however, we would not disturb their dwellings. They are, however, potentially dangerous and powerful, which is why if one were to reveal themselves and abuse their abilities, chaos could ensue. This is why I want to know why you're here, Harry Potter."

"So you know a little bit about my… kind," Harry said, "You don't know too much though it seems, but I guess from what you said, that's expected. This might as well be the time for me to come clean though. I was going to tell everyone anyway. Otherwise, you'd all keep on asking questions."

Moving towards the window and looking out, Harry told the room, "My name is Harry Potter, and I am a wizard."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Well that was exciting... sorry it took so long everyone, it's been a busy week with my internship and not getting enough sleep in general. Also, it was just kind of hard to fit Harry into everything without screwing it up too much. The bigger action's going to be happening later on when Harry can get in on his own action-y stuff.

And to address the issue of the wizarding world. I know everyone has a lot of questions and I have a lot to answer for, but they will come, just not during this part of the story because right now is about Harry integrating himself into the Avengers and the team itself becoming cohesive.

Thanks for everything and hope to see you all soon!


	5. Chapter 5

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"And I'm a dog," Tony said sarcastically, "Wow, Thor, you really bought into this one."

"Do you think I joke tin man?" Thor said angrily, rising from his seat.

Raising his hands in a placating manner, Harry said, "Guys, can you please calm down? Let me explain everything."

"Geez, we barely even know you, and you expect us to believe that you can do all this magical stuff?" Tony asked, skeptically.

"Really though Tony," Dr. Banner said, "Is it that hard to believe that with all that we've seen and experienced in our lives? I mean, sure science can explain some things, but what about stuff like the Tesseract, or Asgard, or everything else abnormal in our lives?"

Settling down, Tony said, "I still can't believe it. I mean, what are wizards even supposed to do? Pull a rabbit out of your hat?"

Harry frowned and looked around. He found a blank piece of paper lying on a side table and brought it to the center table for everyone. Pointing his finger at the plain paper, Harry transfigured it out into a pure white rabbit with black eyes. Immediately, it jumped off of the table and began hopping around.

"Believe me now?" Harry asked.

Everyone sat there speechless, simply following the rabbit around with their eyes. Harry stood there, smiling amusedly, before clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Thor, you were right, wizards and witches, or the Old Folk like you said, usually kept to themselves. But at least before a certain time, they still roamed around being themselves, but from what I've seen, none of them walk among muggles anymore," Harry explained.

Seeing the look on everyone's faces, Harry elaborated, "Muggles are non-magical people."

He laughed a bit seeing the look of realization dawning on their faces.

"The thing is, the wizarding world is very backwards. Apparently, when I… errr…. A certain event happened where they risked being exposed to the world, they chose to hide instead of trying to understand and integrate themselves with mu- non-magicals. That's why you don't see any of them in the streets anymore, and even back when they did walk freely in the world, there were many laws in place preventing them from saying anything about the wizarding world. So even if they were here, you would never be able to tell they were magical because they simply weren't allowed to break this so-called Statute of Secrecy."

"Then why did you break it?" Dr. Banner asked, interested.

"Because… I've been gone for a while, so I was never affected by the change. In fact, I never even heard of it until a year ago."

Natasha looked skeptical at that, like Harry had something he wasn't telling them. Especially since the file said he was missing for 8 years. However, none of the other Avengers decided to comment on it.

Harry continued, "So Director Fury brought me up to speed with what happened in the wizarding world and then asked for my help. Reluctantly, I agreed, so here I am."

"And that's it?" Tony asked, expecting more.

"Well, what more do you want?" Harry asked.

"I don't know, maybe about who you are? Why you disappeared for eight years? Why the normal rules of even magic don't apply to you?" Tony asked exasperatedly, "And how on earth can they just do that anyway? Get rid of all these wizards right under our noses? Why do you look so much younger than 32 like your file says you should be?"

Looking away from the group, Harry said, "I can't answer all of those questions right now. Magic, as much as it is a tool for us magical beings, is also our master. Some things I haven't found an answer to yet either. And as for who I am, it's something very personal I'd rather not discuss with everyone until I absolutely have to. It doesn't have anything to do with the Tesseract anyway."

The rest of the group looked at each other, trying to gauge what the others were thinking. The most skeptical of all was clearly Tony, who continued to frown, standing against the door frame next to Coulson. The S.H.I.E.L.D agent, on the other hand, looked completely unperturbed, mostly because he had an inkling something was going on with all the secrecy between Harry and the Director. Natasha, while still harboring a bit of doubt, trusted Harry enough from their short interactions to know that he meant well.

Dr. Banner, on the other hand, kept a schooled face, even though a bit of turmoil brewed inside. If magic existed, could it be an answer to his problem? While he wasn't exactly sure, the idea of magic and its applications to science could be amazing, but also dangerous, which is why he decided to reserve judgment. Thor had also accepted Harry's explanation, but was very wary of the young man because of the stories of the Old Folk and their potential to be just as powerful as the gods in some ways. Steve kept it simple, thinking to himself that he would trust Harry for the good of the team, but to reach a personal level of trust, Harry would have to prove himself.

Harry's thoughts, on the other hand, were a complete mess. On one hand, he really wished to talk about his entire situation to the team, if anything, to finally have a chance to let it all out. There was few he could talk to, and none he could explain his situation to. Even though the Statue of Secrecy no longer applied to him because of how all magical people were practically gone, he couldn't shake the feeling that if he told more than he needed, he would become the center of attention again, both for good and bad. Harry wanted to talk about what he had gone through, from the war and afterwards, living in a foreign place. At this point, however, Harry didn't have it in him to tell them about his potential, both in magic, and as the Master of Death. As weird as the situation was already, telling them would only add on to their burden, and perhaps their mistrust. Shaking his head, Harry walked to the table and looked at the files Coulson had placed there for everyone.

Breaking out of their mood, each member grabbed one of the manila folders and read quietly before Dr. Banner said, "Iridium, what did they need the Iridium for?"

"It's a stabilizing agent," Tony explained, reserving his thoughts for later, "Means the portal won't collapse on itself, like it did at S.H.I.E.L.D. Also, it means the portal can open as wide, and stay open as long, as Loki wants."

Standing up, Tony motioned for everyone to follow him as they went to the busy main hub of the carrier.

"The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily, but he still needs a power source. A high energy density, something that could kick-start the cube," Tony mused as he looked at the different screens.

Agent Maria Hill walked in from one of the side doors, "And when did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"

"Last night," Tony said smugly, "The packet, Selvig's notes, the Extraction Theory papers. Am I the only who did the reading?"

"Is there a specific source Loki needs?" Steve asked sharply, ignoring Tony once again.

Dr. Banner thought for a second before answering, "He has to heat the cube to at least a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier…"

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunneling effect," Tony continued.

"Then he could achieve Heavy Ion Fusion at any reactor on the planet with that," Dr. Banner said.

Raising his hands up in mock joy, Tony said, "Finally, someone who speaks English!"

"Is that what just happened?" Steve asked out loud as the rest of the team silently agreed with him.

Even Harry felt overwhelmed by all this science, shaking his head. Tony walked from his location to Dr. Banner and raised his hand to shake the Doctor's hands.

"It's good to meet you, Dr. Banner. You're work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Dr. Banner smiled weakly and said, "Thanks."

Director Fury walked in and said, "Dr. Banner is only here to track the cube. I was hoping you might join him."

Trying to contribute, Steve said, "Let's start with that stick of his. It may be magical, but it works an awful lot like a Hydra weapon."

Harry winced at the mention of magical, as the entire team couldn't help but glance over at Harry. Absently, Harry also had put a hand in his pocket and rested it on the Elder Wand. He had left Draco's wand in his suitcase, because even though he could easily control it, it did not feel as natural as his own wand or the Elder Wand did.

The Director continued saying, "I don't know about that, but it is powered by the cube. And I'd like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys."

"Monkeys?" Thor asked, completely bewildered, "I do not understand."

Excitedly, Steve said, "I do! I understood that reference!"

Harry could only shake his head as he walked away to his room. Maybe he could get a bit of a rest and reorganize his things since they would probably be here for a while.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry sat in the chair in his small room for a bit, holding in his hands his two wands, the Resurrection Stone, and the Invisibility Cloak. These, along with the clothes on his backs, were the only things he had from the wizarding world. Thinking of the people on this team, he really wondered how well they could work together.

Sighing, Harry remembered his own little "team," or more like his family. Neville, whose bravery was greater than so many of the renowned warriors of the wizarding world. Luna, whose odd, yet resourceful, intellect was only outweighed by her compassion and empathy. Ginny, whose fiery passion and fierce strength was a source for everyone, especially him. Ron, whose loud personality showed a fierce loyalty and strong friendship, despite all the problems they had. Hermione, whose genius intellect was only one part of her multi-faceted personality filled with love, loyalty, and reliability; a person he could always count on during difficult times to stick by him and help him when he was too thick-headed and hopeless.

And yet now, here he was a completely different team with different dynamics. Tony didn't seem to trust him at all, and the rest of the group was all extremely guarded and wary of him. Harry didn't want to use legilimency on them either, because it was a power he refused to abuse if possible. The one time he almost used it with Stark happened because he was almost at wit's end. But still, this group did not gel at all, if anything it was the opposite. No one trusted each other, many people were on edge with each other, and respect was only given sparingly if at all.

And then there was Director Fury, the man of many mysteries. Harry did not understand how one man could understand so much and be so well-connected. Clearly, he was hiding something from everyone because of the way he treated the information. He told each person only what they needed, and no more, and if the Avengers Initiative were to work, the group had to know practically everything. Yet, here everyone was completely in the dark about their objective aside from listening to the Director's command. There was just something about the entire situation that seemed fishy, and no matter how much Harry tried; he couldn't rid himself of it.

Harry sighed and stood up. Maybe it was time to look around a bit.

'_Now why would Nick Fury want to use the Tesseract?'_Harry wondered to himself as he walked out of his room, _'It can't only be for energy, because to harness the Tesseract's energy, you would need tons of research and investments to create plants large enough and advanced to contain and spread out its power. Unlimited sustainable energy cannot be spread that much. No, there must be something bigger than this. The thing is, Fury is so paranoid, few would know about it.'_

Looking ahead, he saw Steve Rogers heading into the lab. Curious, Harry entered in as well.

"Potter," Tony said curtly.

Suddenly, the room got very quiet and no one seemed to talk.

"Oh," Harry said sarcastically, "Don't suddenly stop on my account."

"And I suppose you're just going to wave a magic wand and make us all work together like a happy, little family," Tony replied scathingly.

"Is everything a joke to you?" Steve asked, annoyed.

"Funny things are," Tony said.

"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn't funny. No offense, doctor," Steve said looking at Dr. Banner.

"No, it's alright. I wouldn't have come aboard if I couldn't handle pointy things," Dr. Banner replied.

"Can we just get to the point?" Harry asked, "I know you're just as suspicious as I am."

"So you had your doubts too?" Dr. Banner asked sharply.

Tony's eyebrows raised at Harry's astuteness. He was still a very shady character that was completely unbelievable, but at least he got this far.

Setting aside his differences, Tony said, "Yeah. Why did he call us here and now? Why didn't he just prevent it from happening by calling us earlier? What's he not telling us? I can't solve the equation unless I have all the variables."

Steve looked at the three men and asked confusedly, "What are you taking about?"

"Fury," Harry said, "Nick Fury's hiding something."

"What?" Steve asked, eyes widening, "That's impossible. Why would he do something like that?"

"He's a spy, Captain," Tony said, "And not just any spy. _The_spy. It's secrets on secrets on secrets."

"'A warm light for all mankind to share,'" Dr. Banner said out loud, "Loki's jab at Fury about the cube."

"I heard it," Steve said, "But what would it mean?"

"It means that Fury's not telling us the truth," Harry said, "If anything, he's trying to provoke you, Stark."

"You heard about it too?" Tony asked with an eyebrow raised.

Harry rolled his eyes, "It was all over the news reports: the self-sustaining energy source that can run itself for at least a year."

"That's just the prototype," Tony said with a grin despite himself, "I'm kind of the only name in clean energy right now."

"But why didn't S.H.I.E.L.D bring him in on the Tesseract project then? What are they doing in the energy business in the first place?" Dr. Banner mused.

Tony moved towards the table and grabbed a bag from the table. A bag of blueberries to be precise. Harry groaned, of course Tony Stark would forsake a commodity when he could help it.

"I should probably look into that once my decryption program finishes breaking into all of S.H.I.E.L.D's secure files," Tony said nonchalantly.

"Impressive," Harry whistled.

Surprisingly, Tony nodded in slight thanks of the praise. Steve, on the other hand, was not so impressed.

"I'm sorry, did you say…?" the Captain asked.

"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours, we'll know every dirty secret S.H.I.E.L.D has ever tried to hide," Tony explained before holding out his bag of goodies to Dr. Banner, "Blueberry?"

Steve rolled his eyes, "Yet you're confused why they didn't want you around?"

"An intelligence organization that fears intelligence? Historically not possible," Tony said.

"I think Loki's trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed," Steve said, trying to explain his point of view, "We have orders, we should follow them."

Harry looked at the Captain sharply. Even though Steve sounded confident because of the soldier in him, he could see the super-soldier had his own doubts about the entire situation. Harry still had no reason to trust in the Director or this entire plan, but this group was the best thing he had to a support system since coming here. As much as he hated to admit it, he might need the Avengers help to get to the bottom of it all, including Tony.

"Following isn't my style," Tony said, shaking Harry out of his thoughts.

"And you're all about style, aren't you?" Steve retorted, strain evident in his voice.

"Of the people in this room," Tony said with a smirk, "which one is (a) wearing a spangly outfit, and (b) not of use?"

Dr. Banner, sensing the imminent conflict, tried to placate the Captain saying, "Steve, tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?"

"Just find the cube," Steve said shortly, leaving the room.

Seeing the Captain leave, Tony ran his hand through his hair, saying, "That's the guy my dad never shut up about? Wondering if they shouldn't have kept him on ice."

"You know, Stark," Harry said, "The Captain might be right on this point. Loki does have advantages over us, including some convoluted plan no one can really figure out."

"Oh yeah?" Tony asked, "And what do you propose super-wizard? I think Loki's just another basket case. An ACME dynamite kit waiting to blow up on itself."

"Tony," Harry said softly, surprising the Iron Man with the use of his first name, "Please, just hear me out."

Despite being a guarded man, Tony was surprised to see Harry be so… human, so vulnerable. This entire time, he was the most stoic member of the team, and with people like Natasha and Dr. Banner, that was saying something. Interested, Tony paused and listened. Similarly, Dr. Banner put down his work, leaned against the table, and joined in the conversation. He sensed a story coming on.

"When I told you guys I was a wizard, I didn't tell you guys the full story," Harry began.

"Before I disappeared for those eight years, I was a part of a war, similar to what we've been dealing with, and yet a thousand times more sinister."

"What happened?" Tony asked.

"It was an evil wizard, one with powers beyond what you could even think of. He was ruthless, cunning, and had loads of followers. There were many times we all wanted to give up hope, but we had something to keep us going. It was the friendship that my friends and I had. As a team, we were able to solve problems, support each other with our abilities, and most importantly, carry each other through all the difficulties."

"Now I can't ask you all to be my friends after a day, and much less after the animosity in this group. But I do want all of us to be able to trust each other and at least hear each other out. Together, we stand stronger than we are divided."

"Wow, that was the biggest piece of cheese I've ever seen cut," Tony said.

Dr. Banner clenched his hands together, waiting for the blowup to happen. But instead, Tony smiled.

"But I suppose that if you're willing to trust me a bit, I can at least _try_ to listen to you. Keyword being try. And don't expect me to be all chummy with you either," Tony said, "But I guess I get what you mean by cooperation."

Dr. Banner's and Harry's jaw dropped. This was Tony Stark, the playboy billionaire whose reputation for being a snobby, rich person was only surpassed by his inability to work with others.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked "Cat got your tongue? I can play nicely… sometimes… rarely… okay, more like almost never. But when I need to, I ca-"

Before Tony could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by a beep coming from his computer.

"Whoa, that's a lot of stuff," Tony said.

"Yeah…" Dr. Banner said distractedly.

"What's wrong Doc?" Tony asked his fellow scientist.

"Nothing."

"You're worried about the monster inside of you, aren't you?" Harry asked softly.

Dr. Banner's eyebrows raised, "And why would you think that?"

"You've kept yourself guarded the entire time, and whenever any of us talk, you try to keep contact to a bare minimum unless something interests you. You always want to help maintain the peace, but I have a suspicion that despite all of that, you aren't sure if you can do it yourself, which is why you take on the hands-off approach when possible," Harry surmised.

"Well, the Other Guy, isn't very accommodating to say the least. He's a disaster waiting to happen, and he's in me," Dr. Banner said, anguish creeping into his voice.

"Well, I've got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart," Tony said pointing to his mini arc reactor, "This stops it. This little circle of light. It's part of me now, not just armor. It's a terrible privilege."

"And trust me, I've dealt with possessions and all that crazy stuff, feeling as if you're helpless," Harry said, "But you're not. You are your own person and you can decide what to make of your situation."

'_I sound like a stupid fortune cookie,'_Harry thought, thinking of all his cheesy lines of the day.

Looking away, Harry noticed Natasha talking to Loki on one of the screens showing the prison camera.

"What the hell is she doing?" Harry hissed, "She's not supposed to be there. Loki's cunning and manipulative. She…"

"Is probably there for some kind of mission for Fury," Tony finished, "Don't worry about that woman. She's a strong one that can handle her stuff. Give her some credit Po- Harry."

Harry nodded and then looked back at the computer screen, "So what was that beeping about?"

"Oh yeah," Tony said, turning back to the monitors, "Hmm, what's this about a Phase 2?"

Tony frowned as he pulled up some screens about a mysterious plan with schematics about a variety of devices. Harry's eyes widened. While he may have only been here for about five years, he could easily tell what weapons were, and those schematics showed devices clearly meant for harm. More importantly, however, something in the corner caught Harry's eyes.

"Project… MAGIC?" Harry asked out loud, eyes widening, "Tony, can you click on that for me?"

"Hmm? That's odd," Tony said, "Sure."

As the files began unloading onto the screen in front of Harry, he felt his anger boil more and more as both Tony and Dr. Banner read the file along with him. After finishing a quick skim of the files, they both looked at Harry.

Harry's hands were clenched to white, and a little bit of blood seeped out from where his nails dug into the skin. His mouth was completely locked, and his eyes were devoid of any emotion except anger, narrowed, dark green eyes stared at the screen as it moved from left to right, reading the files. Papers began flying off of the tables and a slight rattling could be heard throughout the room.

God save the man who crossed Harry Potter right now.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Nick Fury walked through the carrier towards the room Tony Stark and Dr. Banner were in, hoping they found some clue to the Tesseract's location. He had just sent Natasha to talk to Loki to find out what exactly the demi-god was planning to do.

It was unsettling how easily he came in and gave up the scepter, despite all the manpower they had. Hopefully, Natasha, with her ability to interrogate and act, she could get some idea.

As he walked on, he saw Harry Potter in the room with the two scientists. But more importantly, as Nick Fury's lone eye widened, papers were flying everywhere and it seemed like a storm was literally brewing within the room.

Running forward, Nick Fury opened the door and walked in, only to feel something jabbing at his throat.

The papers settled down, but a chill fell throughout the room. Harry Potter was beyond angry, and Fury had an idea why.

"NICK FURY I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N: Man, plot building can be such a huge pain in the butt sometimes, but its absolutely necessary I guess. This chapter was more of Harry assimilating into the group more and more. Also, the whole revelation as to what exactly happened to the wizards, as well as a few other events, are starting to come to light. Of course, don't expect everything to be answered in the near future, because that would kill the suspense! Okay, not really, but Harry's world and the Avengers world is really starting to clash from here.

Hope you enjoyed and see you all soon!


	6. Chapter 6

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"What's going on here, Mr. Potter?" Nick Fury asked calmly.

"Why the bloody hell did you let someone test the Tesseract with magic?" Harry snarled out.

Placing his hand on Harry, Dr. Banner said, "Harry, let's calm down and talk about it."

"No! It's because of this idiot and this stupid organization that my life has been a huge rollercoaster after the war," Harry snarled, "I was supposed to have peace. I was supposed to be with friends and family. I was supposed to finally heal! And because of _their _greedy hands, I've been stuck in this nightmare!"

He looked at Dr. Banner in anguish, but seeing the kind man's face, despite _his_ inner problems, calmed Harry a little bit. Taking a deep breath, Harry put the Elder Wand back in his pocket and slumped down in a chair.

'_It's ironic that the man with the angry, green monster inside of him managed to calm the usually stoic Harry Potter'_ Tony mused to himself before turning to the Director.

"Now explain," Tony demanded, "Before wizard boy here blows you up into tiny pieces and we become one Director short."

Brushing off his jacket as if nothing of importance happened, Fury said, "I thought you were supposed to be locating the Tesseract."

"We are," Dr. Banner said, "The model's locked and we're sweeping for the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile."

"And you'll have your cube back," Tony said, "No muss, no fuss. Now what's Phase 2? And Project MAGIC?"

"I can't answer for Project MAGIC," Steve said, coming in with some kind of weapon in his hands, "But Phase 2 is S.H.I.E.L.D using the cube to make weapons."

Looking at Tony, Steve smirked a little and said, "Sorry, the computer was moving a bit slow for me."

"Rogers…" Nick began, "we gathered everything belonging to the Tesseract. This does not mean…"

Tony rotated one of the monitors with the schematic of the weapon towards Fury and said, "I'm sorry Nick. You were lying?"

Finally calmed down a bit, Harry raised his hands and gestured at one of the tablets on the table also displaying the different plans. It slowly began floating up and into Harry's hands. Pressing on the MAGIC folder, Harry faced the screen towards Fury. On the screen displayed a video of an old man with a wand firing spells at the Tesseract, charging it up with different spells for some reason or another.

Fury flinched a little at the video before saying quietly and almost dangerously, "You were not supposed to have access to those files."

"Then what files were we supposed to be accessing?" Harry spat out.

Suddenly, the door opened behind Fury as Thor and Natasha stepped inside as well.

Dr. Banner, with his eyes narrowed, asked Natasha, "Did you know about this?"

"You wanna think about removing yourself from this environment, Doctor?" Natasha asked calmly.

"I was in Calcutta," Dr. Banner said, "I was pretty well removed."

"Loki's manipulating you."

"And you've been doing what exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you," Natasha retorted.

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Dr. Banner declared, "I'd like to know why S.H.I.E.L.D is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction and why you're using wizards to mess with it."

"Correction," Fury said, "We _used _wizard to mess with it. And we stopped, until someone like _him_ came along."

Thor's eyes widened as Fury pointed at him.

"Me?" Thor asked incredulously.

"Last year," Fury explained, "Earth had a visitor from another planet who had a grudge mass that leveled a small town. We learned that not only are we not alone, but we are hopelessly, hilariously, out gunned."

Thor said indignantly, "My people wanting nothing but peace with your planet."

"But," Fury countered, "You're not the only people out there, are you? And, you're not the only threat. The world's filling up with people who can't be matched, they can't be controlled. For example, wizards like Harry."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"The Tesseract was originally found by Howard Stark, one of the founding members of S.H.I.E.L.D and also one of the greatest researchers of his time. It was a complete accident of course, because he was really looking for his friend," Fury said looking pointedly at Steve, "You, Captain."

Steve stood there stunned. While he considered the senior Stark a friend, he never thought Howard would look for him when he had so much more to do. It was a bittersweet feeling, remembering his old friend while realizing that he would never be able to see him again either.

"When it became evident you would not be found, however, Stark turned his attention to the Tesseract. It was a new power source that was untapped, and what H.Y.D.R.A did, despite its evil intentions, showed how much potential the Tesseract had," Nick explained.

"From what Howard Stark told me, after many experiments, nothing seemed to work well with the Tesseract. At least, nothing humanly possible worked. It didn't respond to anything he threw at it, but of course, being Howard Stark, he didn't give up. Instead, he turned to a friend he once knew back in his hey days, someone who could do… inexplicable things. He was, in fact, a wizard that Stark had met a few years after the Cap's disappearance. When Stark presented the problem to the wizard, the man did something to the Tesseract to cause a huge reaction. It was a volatile result, but it was something they could work with, and their research was passed on to S.H.I.E.L.D to use, even after Howard's unfortunate passing."

"When the Tesseract came to us, we immediately had to start trying to figure how to harness the power as well. All that untapped energy could be good for anything and everything, and we already had a lead on using magic to possibly tapping into the resource. In fact, thanks to Howard, it was then we started working more and more with the American Ministry."

Harry was pensive during this entire talk, trying to figure out some implications to combining magic with the Tesseract. He hadn't seen much of it at all, but from what he heard, it was an energy source with limitless power, and according to Fury, reacted strongly with magic. In fact, so strongly with magic to the point that…

"Fury, about when did you experiment with the Tesseract using magic?" Harry asked sharply.

Fury raised his eyebrows, realizing exactly how smart Harry Potter was.

"How did you figure out the correlation?"

"Just tell me, _Director_," Harry said threateningly.

With a small sigh, Fury answered, "We started in 1998, and made a breakthrough on May 2nd, 1998."

"You dabbled in the Dark Arts, didn't you?" Harry asked as his rage rose once again.

"The blame lays partly on you, Potter. As soon as your country's Voldemort character began rising to power and became more dangerous, the American Ministry felt it… necessary… to do whatever they could to protect the country. This meant if they had to work with the Tesseract or Dark Arts or anything else, they would do it."

"And so when I was dueling Voldemort," Harry surmised, "The Tesseract must have reacted with the concentrated Dark Magic around Hogwarts from the battle, and affected me…"

"Close, but no," Fury said, "As backwards as wizards are when it comes to technology. Some of them are geniuses. If you'll let me finish my story, you'll see. Wizards discovered the Tesseract could be used to amplify their magic to enormous proportions, enough to make it be able to traverse as far as they want it to and as much as they want it to."

"So on May 2nd, 1998, ten wizards got together and focused their magic on the Tesseract and, to use their own words, willed their magic to attack Voldemort from overseas."

Tony butted in and asked, "Wait, what the hell is going on? Voldemort? Combining magic and science? WILL THEIR MAGIC? That makes absolutely no sense. You're making it sound like they used magic like a satellite missile or something."

"Tony, can you calm down please?" Harry asked impatiently, "This is something important to me, and I need to know what happened that day."

"No, I'm not going to calm down," Tony said, "Potter, I've had enough of this. I tried to be nice since you looked so vulnerable and miserable, but this is too much. I told all you people, I need all the variables before solving the equation, and right now, I only know x out of a, b, c, and all the rest of the letters in the alphabet used in this stupid equation."

Steve opened and closed his mouth saying, "I don't get it."

"It means it doesn't make sense," Tony said, rolling his eyes, "Geez Cap, do you know anything besides standing at attention?"

"Oh yeah? What can you do? Without that suit of armor, you're nothing."

"Hmm, without the suit of armor, what am I? Oh yeah, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

"I've seen guys way better than you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy who would sacrifice for others, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"Hmm, I'd probably just cut the wire," Tony said simply.

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero, like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle."

"Put on the suit then, let's go a few rounds," Steve replied angrily.

Suddenly, a boisterous laugh rang out from Thor as he said, "You people are so petty… and tiny."

"Yeah," Dr. Banner said, sarcastically pointing to himself, "This is a teeny tiny human."

Nick Fury asked firmly, "Agent Romanoff, would escort Dr. Banner back to his-,"

"My cell? How can you? You rented it out to Mr. Greasy-Haired Manipulator," Dr. Banner said bitterly.

"The cell was just…" Fury began to say.

"In case you needed to kill me. But guess what? You can't! I know, I tried. I got low, I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out. So I moved on, I focused on helping other people. I was good until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk. You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

Harry saw what Dr. Banner was trying to grab at and said, "Dr. Banner. Please calm down and get away from that scepter. If it's anything like what I've had to deal with, it can do things to your mind."

Natasha's eyes widened. It was just like what Loki had said about expanding people's minds. But the way it expanded Agent Barton's mind could only mean disaster for S.H.I.E.L.D and the rest of the world. However, she was shook out of her thoughts as the computer beeped.

"Sorry kids, looks like you don't get to see my little party trick."

"Located the Tesseract?" Thor asked.

"I can get there faster," Tony said.

Steve retorted saying, "Look, all of us…"

"The Tesseract belongs on Asgard, no human is a match for it," Thor said frowning.

Harry thought back to what Fury was talking about the entire time about the Tesseract and how it may have had to do with his disappearance. While it seemed like Fury still had a lot more to say, it was definitely a start, and Harry knew it had something to do with the disappearance of witches and wizards around the world. So he'd be damned to let them take away the Tesseract as easily as that.

"No, I need to see the Tesseract for myself. There's more to this cube than just power, and I need to find out what it is," Harry declared.

"Old Folk or not, only Asgardians should deal with it," Thor replied angrily.

"Well this Old Folk needs it more than you guys do."

"What are you gonna do with it? Wave your fancy wand and make little girly sparks?" Thor mocked.

Meanwhile, Natasha was fighting with Dr. Banner still about getting him away from the computer and into a safer room.

"Please, Dr. Banner, get out of here before someone has to get hurt," Natasha said.

"Well excuse me, who forced me out of Calcutta and into this place any-," Dr. Banner began before pushing Natasha away.

He stared at the computer screen as it beeped. Something came up about the Tesseract, something important.

"Oh my God," Dr. Banner exclaimed, before the entire ship rocked with explosions.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Groaning, Harry looked around to see where he was. Sparks were flying everywhere out of broken wires, and rubble littered the entire area. Trying to stand up, he found himself pinned under a piece of debris, and next to him was Natasha, still out cold. And on the other side of the room… was Dr. Banner, holding his head.

Externally, he seemed fine aside from a few bruises, and he certainly wasn't the one pinned under a piece of the carrier. Somehow, though, Harry could feel it in the air. It was a change in the atmosphere towards something a lot more sinister.

Natasha groaned and saw Dr. Banner clutching his head. Immediately, she knew what was going to happen.

"Doctor? Bruce, you gotta fight it. This is just what Loki wants. We're going to be okay. Listen to me," Natasha said.

Harry's eyes widened at the implications of Natasha's statement. If she was talking about what he thought she was, they were all in serious trouble. Harry placed his hand on the carrier piece on him and concentrated his magic on it. Taking a deep breath, he focused and casted a controlled blasting spell, similar to the _Reducto_ spell, as it disintegrated into dust which flew everywhere.

Natasha coughed, "Harry what the hell are you doing? Can't you see I'm trying to talk to Dr. Banner here?"

"Yeah, I don't think that would be best of ideas right now," Harry muttered.

Looking at the greening doctor, Harry grabbed Natasha's hand, pulled her up, and started running. As he ran, Harry pointed his index finger at Dr. Banner and muttered the strongest wandless _Stupefy_ spell he could muster before running ahead.

"Come on Natasha," Harry said, "That spell will probably hold only a few seconds before the transformation overpowers the doctor."

"What then?" she muttered sarcastically.

"Then?" Harry asked, "Then we get the hell out of here."

Running down the corridors, Harry and Natasha got about a 30 second head start. As soon as Harry cleared the next doorway, he could hear loud crashes behind him as everything in the way of the Hulk was utterly decimated. A loud, guttural sound erupted into a savage roar as the monster barreled down. By this time, Harry already felt the adrenaline kicking in and was working on complete instinct.

Luckily, Natasha's experience as a S.H.I.E.L.D agent kicked in, and ironically she began leading Harry around. Harry, despite having some trust issues with S.H.I.E.L.D, knew better than to argue with the split-second decision making skills of the assassin and let her take the lead. All the while, Harry would haphazardly throw random _Reducto _blasts at the walls behind him, hoping to slow down the Hulk.

'_I hope Fury's going to foot the bill for this, because right now, we just got to survive,' _Harry thought to himself.

After what felt like hours of running, but was only minutes, Harry and Natasha reached the end of a loading bay. Panting, Harry looked left and right for any other way to run, but saw nothing except for the wide expanse of ships.

"Oh bugger," Harry muttered as he saw the green, raging Hulk rampaging towards them.

Harry took out his wand, preparing the strongest banishing curse he could muster. But before the words could even leave his mouth, the Hulk bounded straight for them both and knocked them against the hangar wall. A shrill whine filled his head as he lay slumped against the wall. Natasha was in a similar position right next to him.

The monster was truly a sight to behold. He was completely green and naked sans the purple pants that miraculously stayed on, certainly saving them all a horrendous image. Green muscles rippled throughout his body as he towered over Harry and Natasha.

The Hulk raised his fists up together in preparation for crushing the two humans as Harry raised his hand out with his wand in it and screamed out, _"Flippendo!"_

The Hulk was pushed back about a yard, but otherwise simply flinched a little. Luckily, a loud crash filled the hangar, and Thor flew in, hammer first, hitting the Hulk on his side and knocking him down.

"Took you long enough," Harry groaned out as he regained his breath.

Hearing Natasha, he heard her panting as well, although not nearly as much as he was. As magical as he was, he could never compete with a trained agent like her. Looking at her face, however, he could see bruises and a small wound from where the debris had fell on her. Eyes following down to the rest of her body, Harry kept his composure as much as he could to assess the damage they both sustained without seeming like a pervert leering at her body. She was covered with scrapes and bruises, and he was in an equally battered state. What really worried him, however, were the small heaving noises he could hear from Natasha, the slightest hiccupping sob escaping her mouth.

Harry realized how hard it must be to do what some of these people do, to dedicate not only their lives, but sometimes their humanity, to do S.H.I.E.L.D's dirty work. Even when he was at Hogwarts and marked as the Chosen One, at least he still had friends and a school life that help add a sense of humanity and safety. It was these few moments that he realized the humanity in these people, regardless of them being trained as spies or superheroes.

As Natasha got her breath back and calmed down, she noticed staring intently at her up and down and smirked ever-so-slightly in spite of the situation, saying with a winded voice, "I don't think this should be the time to be checking me out right now Harry."

"Cheeky women. I forgot how much of a pain they were to deal with," Harry muttered surprised at her quick change of personality before explaining as he began waving his wand, "Don't worry, I'm just healing us both right now before we get into a worse situation."

"_Episkey,"_ Harry said, wand pointing at Natasha before repeating the same on himself.

Feeling as good as new, Harry noticed Natasha reaching up to her ear and listening on something before saying, "This is Agent Romanoff. I copy."

Harry looked at her questioningly before she replied, "Barton."

He raised an eyebrow at that, not recognizing the name before thinking back to the file he had read on the way to the plane.

"Right," Harry muttered, "Your partner. Do you think you can handle him on your own?"

Natasha rolled her eyes at Harry before giving him a face that spoke volumes. Simply put, it yelled out how idiotic that question was.

"Got it," Harry said promptly, "Off you go then, I'll help Thor with the big, scary green guy."

Turning around, he saw a plane dropping down with the Hulk with it. Harry groaned, wondering how on earth they were going to get Dr. Banner back now that the carrier was practically destroyed. Seeing Thor run up ahead, Harry made to follow the demigod through the hallways before passing by one of the wrecked parts of the ship, where Steve was being attacked by Loki's men.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

It was supposed to be a simple thing, Steve thought to himself. All he had to do was pull one simple lever and make sure Tony didn't get completely run over by the quickly spinning propellers. Next thing he knew, he was facing a bunch of Loki's men gunning him down. Luckily, he pulled one of the guns off of the men and got an advantage.

And then he just had to blink. Next thing Steve knew, he lost his grip on the railing and was sent hurtling back from the rocking ship. As he was falling, he managed to grab hold of a loose cable, thanking the heavens above for rubber coating making it easy to maintain a strong grip.

The earpiece in his ear buzzed and Tony yelled out, "Cap, I need the lever!"

"I need a minute here!" the Captain responded distractedly.

"Lever. Now!" Tony yelled, almost desperately.

A few seconds later, Steve could hear some terrible screeching and crunching noises coming out from his earpiece. Shuddering, he could only hope for the best as he tried to climb up the rope. However, as he was climbing, one of the surviving men raised a gun and aimed right for Steve.

Steve steeled himself as he pulled his arms up to continue climbing, hoping the man was a bad shot or he could climb up fast enough. Before he could do anything else though, Steve heard a loud crack and the girly scream of the man falling from the ship.

Looking up at where the foot soldier used to be, he saw Harry Potter with his wand pointed to where the soldier used to stand.

Steve grinned before yelling out, "Do you think you can pull that red lever for me? I think Tony would like to get out of that turbine!"

Harry's eyes widened as he immediately ran for the lever, pulling it. In the distance, he could see a battered and bruised Iron Man flying out. Small sparks flew out of his suit from the damage it sustained.

"Thanks Harry," Steve said, "I mean it."

"No problem," Harry shrugged, "We all got to look out for each other since we're supposed to be a team right?"

The soldier in Steve smiled. Thinking back to his own friends from the war in WWII and how they all looked after each other, he could see Harry had some similar values.

"Anyway, I'm off. I think Thor could use some help right now," Harry said, before promptly spinning in place and disappearing with a loud crack.

Steve nodded, despite Harry already leaving, and climbed up the cable before lying flat out on one of the still-intact corridors of the carrier. Super soldier or not, all that fighting and adrenaline rush took quite a bit out of him. Looking at the sky from the gigantic hole opened by the fighting, he could see Tony shakily flying towards him.

His HUD completely turned off thanks to the damage, Tony opened up his mask as he jerkily flew towards the Captain before promptly crashing into the corridor and just laid there, exhausted.

"Geez Cap," Tony groaned out, "Could you take any longer?"

Steve was about to retort, but he saw Tony's smirk. In spite of himself, the Captain simply grinned and lay there in silent companionship, too exhausted to do anything else.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Harry apparated to Loki's prison cell, the source of all their problems. While he couldn't be sure that Thor was there, chances are that the demigod would go to his brother after the Hulk was dealt with.

'_Although I wouldn't call having Dr. Banner fall off with a plane a good idea,' _Harry thought to himself, _'Another wonderfully patented S.H.I.E.L.D idea.'_

As he appeared in the room, however, he could see that everything had gone wrong. Loki and Thor were nowhere to be found, and the cell supposedly holding Loki had fallen through. Harry looked around trying to think where they all could be before seeing something that shocked Harry.

Against the wall, with a bloody hole pierced in his chest, lay Agent Coulson, almost about to die.

"No!" Harry yelled out, rushing towards the agent.

Agent Coulson was a man Harry respected, despite his involvement in Harry joining S.H.I.E.L.D. He was innocent, and in a quirky way, fun, despite the seriousness of the job description. Even though Harry did not interact much with Coulson, especially when he tuned Coulson out during the Captain American fanboy phase of his, Coulson was quite possibly one of the sanest people on the team. Despite having no superpowers and less training compared to Clint or Natasha, Coulson was no less a part of the team.

More than that though, Harry was simply determined not to let anyone die around him anymore. After dealing with the Wizarding War and the death of many friends, Harry was determined to prevent any casualties he could.

Desperate, Harry racked his brain for any way to save Coulson. He could see the man dying there, but Harry felt so helpless. He was supposed to be the Master of Death or something! He should be able to save Coulson somehow.

"H- H- H- Harry," Coulson groaned out, "How are you here?"

"Wizard, remember?" Harry said, trying to be as cheerful as possible.

Coulson grinned, despite the pain he was in, "Ha… ha. You know… I really wanted to see… some more magic tricks… from you."

Harry could feel tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Even if he was used to death, even if he didn't know Coulson that well, he felt his heart breaking at Coulson trying to lighten the mood, despite him dying.

"I wonder… if the rabbit is still… around somewhere," Coulson wheezed out as he saw Harry wanting to cry.

"You're going to be okay Phil," Harry said, "You're going to be okay."

Coughing a little, Coulson said, "Don't worry… Harry. It doesn't… even… hurt… that much. They won't… win… because… we got all of you… guys… and they… don't have… something important… to fight for… like we do…"

Harry was inwardly berating himself. What kind of wizard was he that he couldn't save the life of a friend? What kind of savior, avenger, hero, whatever could he be if he couldn't save the life of the man who was only all smiles and kindness?

'_Think Harry, think!' _he thought to himself, _'You have so many years of experience under your belt. Healing spells, wandless magic, silent casting, science. What can I do to save him?'_

"You know…" Coulson said, "I never… really got the Cap… to sign those cards of mine… Oh well... I think it's time… for me to clock out… it'll probably… be… a good… long… vacation…"

Images flashed through Harry's mind as he searched meticulously through his brain for anything that could fix this big of a wound. Coulson was losing so much blood though, and he wasn't a healer like Madam Pomfrey nor did he have any potions with him that could work.

Somehow, he could feel Coulson slipping away as he continued to think. Perhaps it was a side effect of being the Master of Death, feeling the life force of those close to him and their slow departure, but Harry did not care right now.

As he could feel Coulson's final breaths being drawn, Harry could only do one thing, and that was working pure instinct. Placing both his hands on Coulson's chest where the wound was, Harry let the magic flow and focused on his sole wish at the moment, willing the magic to fulfill it.

'_Please,'_ Harry thought to himself, _'Please! Save Coulson!'_

Bright lights emanated from Harry's pockets without him realizing it, as he was too focused. The Hallows glowed with a bright white light that covered him and Coulson before filling the entire room.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

I am finally back!

First of all, thank you for all these kind reviews and putting my story on alerts, favorites, and whatever else you do with my story. You guys really motivate me to write.

Let me apologize for being away for so long. It's been over a month since I last updated, and to be honest, the reason was that it was hard for me to write with all the stuff going during this summer. My internship has been keeping me busy, and I've been spending as much time as I can with my family and friends before I head back to school, so that really kept me from getting a lot of writing done.

That being said, I knew I should have been able to finish this chapter at least earlier on, but it took me a while to write through these scenes because they were mostly action-oriented and also focused more on the fragility of the team dynamics.

Also, it was hard for me to flesh out the idea of Project MAGIC, but while not all of it is revealed yet, hopefully you all get an idea of what I was trying to get at and are sated enough until I get the chance to fully expand on it, because it lends itself more to the next arc in the story which takes place after the movie.

Finally, I appreciate all of the comments I have received thus far, including the criticisms because they force me to reevaluate some parts of the story. While I try to fix most of the things people comment about (like I altered the timeline a little bit, which shouldn't affect the story but is still significant), some things, I am just not able to fix. Essentially, just call it an AU with some possibly glaring mistakes and plot holes, but I really do try to address every issue that I can. Still, I can't appease everyone and you readers are very smart, so you guys notice a lot of things that I forget to address or don't notice. Still, if you find any problems (grammar, plot, whatever), please leave a review or PM me about them so that if I can fix them, I can try my best to. Otherwise, if I've already dug myself into a hole much to deep, I apologize for making you read my story with all of its mistakes and sincerely hope you can continue to enjoy the story regardless, but I understand if those things turn you away from the story.

Still, I write this simply because I feel like it and because I want to write a fun story with all of the ideas in my jumbled brain of mine, so I know it won't be perfect, but I hope you all enjoy the ride nevertheless.

Hopefully I'll be able to update again soon, since I've got a bit more of a focus now. See you all soon!


	7. Chapter 7

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Ugh, where am I?" Harry asked.

Looking around, Harry saw that he was in a white room, devoid of anything except for a simple white table and two white chairs. In one of the chairs sat a man Harry did not recognize. He was a wizened old man with a kind face. He was dressed in a long black robe that stood out compared to all the white, and in his hand was a staff, adorned with a black jewel on top.

"Ah, hello young master," the old man said.

"Master?" Harry asked, confused, "Who are you?"

"Who am I indeed?" the old man chuckled, "I suppose there's no beating around the bush. I am what humans call death… personified."

Harry's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.

"Wait, how? When? Why?" asked Harry, completely bewildered.

"You mean why do I call you master? Or how am I death?" Death said with an amused smile.

"Umm, do you think you could answer both?" Harry asked.

"To begin with, death is not always what you humans describe it as," Death began, "In all honesty, I should not have appeared at all, because death is not a being, but instead it is merely a passageway."

"Then who on earth are you? Why are you sitting in front of me like this?" Harry asked, being more and more confused by each answer.

"So many questions, young Harry," Death responded, "But as to why I am here… just hear the entire story."

Harry nodded, clamming up and sitting down in the chair across from Death at the white table.

"So I am death, there's no doubt about that, but I gained a human form through you possessing the Deathly Hallows, and even then, this is all in your head. The only reason I chose this form is because it was the best way to communicate to you. Death is like a ferry, carrying souls over, whether it is human, animal, or some other life force, to the next great journey. Do you understand all of this so far?"

Harry nodded vigorously, trying not to anger death.

The old man saw this and smiled, "Oh young Harry, death isn't something to be afraid of. In fact, you already proved that by truly mastering that Hallows and willingly accepting your own death when you had to. Death cannot be considered bad or good, but only inevitable."

Hearing this, Harry calmed down a bit, and asked with growing confidence and curiosity, "Then what about those searching immortality? Is it possible?"

For the first time, Harry could see the face of the old man grow dark as a shadow crossed his face while he said, "Those seeking immortality, young Harry, are those running away from death. No one person is meant to walk among the living forever, because not only would it disrupt the circle of life and death, but it would also drive the person himself to insanity. To those searching for immortality, their endless search for it would drive them forsake their values and humanity for the one goal. To those who would have achieved it, they would find themselves becoming more and more detached, standing by as anything and everything close to them withered away with age."

Harry's eyes widened as he processed all the information. Voldemort, during his reign of terror, searched not only for growing power and dominance, but also feared death the most. That is why he created his horcruxes, and in turn, losing more and more of his humanity.

"Then," Harry asked, "What does it mean to be a Master of Death? I mean, I'm not immortal, am I? And you still haven't answered why you're here."

"What does it mean to be the Master of Death? Well, obviously, you have access to a great source of power, one that few, if any, can surpass. Furthermore, by mastering it, the Deathly Hallows will answer to you, and only to you, unless you are defeated, like the rules surrounding the Elder Wand."

"However," Death continued, "That does not mean you are immortal. Well, actually, you could be if you truly wished it, but to do so would cause you great pain and force you through terrible trials. Even then, would you want to live a life while everyone else died around you?"

Harry shook his head.

"Good, it seems you understand," Death said as he smiled, wrinkles deepening, "To answer your last question, though, you are here because you did invoke one of your powers as the Master of Death."

"Besides being able to access great power, you can influence of the deaths of those around you. While you cannot call on me to claim the soul of another, you can prevent me from completing the deed. Similar to the costs of immortality, however, you will have to pay a price usually. While not as heavy, it is still significant."

Harry opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Death raised his hand to stop Harry.

"The price is never determined until the moment occurs. Therefore, it's always a risk for you, and sometimes, for me as well. There are many higher powers Harry, and no one man can hope to control it all. This time, however, I can grant you a pardon and save this man without a price. Call it an act of goodwill and a welcoming present for my new so-called master."

Feeling himself let out a sigh of relief, Harry nodded in thanks. This entire situation was extremely confusing. Logically, it made sense. Anything given must also be taken, like the laws of conservation in physics. But aside from that, all this talk about mastering death, immortality, saving others, and everything else made Harry's head spin.

"Well, Harry," Death said, "Now that that's settled and you know the specifications and responsibilities to your power, I must be going now. Lives to claim, people to deal with. You know how it is being death."

Already, Harry could feel his vision turning white once again. Standing up, Harry wanted to yell out for it to stop. He still had so many questions, not only about being the Master of Death, but about all these other things that Death had brought up. Yet, Harry could do nothing except see Death's smiling face one last time before everything turned blindingly white.

Yet for some reason, he could hear a feminine voice call out his name.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Steve looked up at the threatening figure of Nick Fury as he walked in.

'_Although he's just as human and prone to error as the rest of us,'_ he thought to himself.

Speaking aloud, Steve asked, "How's Harry and Coulson?"

"Harry's fine as far as we could tell. Nothing's wrong with him, although it seems like he's completely exhausted," Nick said, "And Coulson…"

"Spit it out, Fury," Tony snarled out.

"We don't know," Fury said, "By all means, he should be dead. The way the wound was positioned, it seemed like Loki stabbed him in the heart. And yet… he's barely hanging on. His heart somehow mended, and it's beating weakly. Potter did something when he got there, we don't know what, but it kept Coulson alive. Whether or not he survives is up to the doctors that are still around, his willpower, and whatever greater power exists in this world."

When he had walked in, Nick saw Harry kneeling in front of Coulson, hands out as looking up as if in prayer. Next thing he knew, Fury saw a bright light emanating from Harry's hands before it filled the room. A few seconds later, Harry lay collapsed next to Coulson and when he checked for a pulse on Coulson, he could feel the faintest signs of life on the man who supposedly sustained a life-ending hit. He didn't know what Harry did, but somehow, Harry gave one of his best agents a fighting chance.

Sighing, Fury said, "We've got nothing here. No communications, no intel, no Banner or Thor, nothing."

Looking at the two remaining Avengers Initiative members at the table, he saw the looks of hopelessness and anger on their faces.

"Yes," he explained, "we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract, but I believed in something greater. Stark was there when I proposed the idea."

Tony gave the slightest of nods before going back to his dazed state.

"It was called the Avengers Initiative. We were going to bring together a group of people, remarkable people, who had the potential to be something greater together; who we could count on when we were out of luck and out of weapons, when we had nothing left to lose."

Nick continued saying, "Phil Coulson believed in the idea, even when he was simply another human being in the world. Even with his life on the line, he fought for us all, fought for the heroes. Even Harry Potter, the young man thrust from one life-or-death war and into another, fought, being the support when others couldn't."

Suddenly, Tony walked out, as if refusing to hear any more of the hero-talk. A few silent moments passed between Steve and Fury before Steve, with a determined look on his face, followed behind Tony.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Groaning, Thor stood up and looked around. He was in the middle of a meadow, with no other sign of life around him besides the plant life.

Thor took a breath and sat down where he was, subconsciously noting the presence of Mjolnir beside him.

Why was he fighting? He was a demigod out of place and out of touch with the world. Even though his intentions were in the right place, others did not seem receptive of his presence. When he had taken it upon himself to be Earth's protector after being with Jane Foster and learning the beauty and goodness of human life, he thought he was doing the world a favor. Yet, it was his very own brother who threatened the existence of this planet and its species, including his friends.

Who was he to meddle in these people affairs when he could not even deal with his own family?

Lying down, Thor looked at his hand, gnarled with years of training and battle, both from his belligerent childhood and from recent events, when all he wanted was peace. Opening and closing his, Thor's mind wandered to the young unknown that appeared in the group. Harry, despite being one of the youngest in the group, had eyes that saw war, just as much as anyone else. He had his own mental traumas and difficulties like everyone else. It was hard to imagine that even though Harry only had so many years under his belt, somewhere amidst all of the confusion surrounding him, he had faced some scarring tribulations.

None of the others trusted Harry much, and to be honest, it was hard to. The information about Harry was minimal at best, and what Harry had shown and told them only raised more questions. He did not do much as a part of the group but was mostly just there. Tony and Bruce both had the brains, and sometimes brute force, that unraveled S.H.I.E.L.D's plans. Captain America was a natural born leader. Natasha and, Thor assumed in extension, Clint Barton were both extremely resourceful and talented. And Thor himself was a demigod who had the responsibility to deal with his brother.

But Harry had no motivation, except for the flimsy one of discovering the mysteries of his own past. To do so, he didn't even need to be with the Avengers or even in America. Thor wondered why Harry did not go back to the source of his troubles, in that large island in Europe. Apparently, however, being in America did have its uses as Harry discovered S.H.I.E.L.D's supposed involvement in his affairs.

Sighing to himself, Thor got up and stared at Mjolnir, his weapon and a major source of his power. Regardless of whether Harry Potter was trusted or not, he was a part of the team and should be treated as such. They all came together to protect the Earth, and by Asgard he would.

Thor took hold of Mjolnir and pointed to the skies, before a large thunderbolt engulfed him as an explosion rocked the meadow.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Bruce blinked a few times before shaking his head.

Apparently, he had crashed into a building if the gigantic whole in the ceiling was any indication. Feeling a slight breeze around his nether regions, Dr. Banner felt himself heat up. If his pants could enlarge with him when he transformed, why couldn't they shrink with him too.

"You fell out of the sky," a voice said from behind him.

Turning around, Bruce saw an old security guard peering down from above the crater he had made with his impact.

"Did I hurt anybody?" Bruce asked worriedly.

"No one around here to get hurt. You did scare the hell out of the pigeons though," the man replied with a smile.

"Lucky," Bruce grunted as he looked for something to cover him.

"Or good aim," the man said, "You were awake as you fell."

Dr. Banner did a double take.

"You saw?" he asked.

"Yep, everything and every part. Fell right through the ceiling, big and green and butt naked like the day you were born," the old man grinned out, "Here."

Bruce looked up just in time to catch a pair of pants three sizes too big for him.

"I didn't think those would fit you until you shrunk down to a regular size fella," the man said.

"Thanks."

An awkward silence fell upon the two of them as Bruce put on the pants.

"Are you an alien?" the old man blurted out.

"A what?" Bruce asked wide-eyed.

"From outer space. An alien. You know, big and green… like you were?"

"No," Bruce said.

"Well then, son, you should probably get that checked. You have a condition."

Bruce opened his mouth to speak before a loud, yet peaceful song suddenly echoed throughout the ruined building.

If it was anything else, Bruce would have tensed up, but what he heard was something not of this Earth. It was a song, not by a human, but by some kind of creature. Like a bird song, but flawless and calming. Dr. Banner could feel years of tension and fear draining away as he heard the song. It was as if nothing mattered anymore, and he could truly be at peace with himself by hearing this wonderful music. Mildly aware, he could see the old man do the same, closing his eyes and rocking slightly in time with the mellifluous sound.

As he closed his eyes to enjoy the heavenly music, Bruce vaguely felt something land on his head, and suddenly, he felt warmth overrun him as he was clothed in flames. These burning tongues, however, did not harm him at all, but instead brought the same peace as the song. Slowly, everything turned bright and, as the old man opened his eyes, Bruce disappeared.

Blinking his eyes and looking around for any sign of the not-really-an-alien person, the old man sighed.

"Yep, definitely a condition."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Natasha looked on worriedly as her partner and friend, Clint Barton, struggled against Loki's mind control, strapped down to a chair.

"You'll be alright Clint, you're stronger than this," Natasha said soothingly.

"You know that?" Clint grunted out, "Is that what you know? I need… need to flush him out."

"It's going to take some time, but we need you now," Natasha said.

"Have you ever had someone mess around in your brain? Make you do things you didn't want to do?" Clint asked angrily.

A small moment of silence passed before Natasha said, "You know that I do."

Clint, finally getting the remnants of Loki's influence out, asked, "So how am I back? How did you give me back control?"

Natasha smiled, "Cognitive recalibration."

"What?" Clint asked.

"I hit you really hard in the head," she replied as she undid the restraints around Clint.

"Thanks," Clint said before saying solemnly, "All those agents…"

Natasha realized what he was referring to and said, "Don't even think about that. It was all Loki's doing. Monsters, magic, superhumans… This is nothing we were ever trained for."

"Did he get away?" Clint asked.

"Yeah…"

"Then we need to act fast. I don't know what he's doing or where it'll be, but it's soon. Today," Clint said.

The female spy's eyes widened.

"We gotta stop him," Natasha declared.

"Who's we?" Clint asked.

"You, me, everyone that we can muster," Natasha said before her eyes widened.

"Harry…" Natasha whispered as she stood up.

"Wait, who?" Clint asked, completely unaware of who she was talking about.

"Harry. Harry Potter. He's one of us… well… them. He can help us take down Loki," Natasha explained as she headed towards the door.

"Them? You mean he's a part of the Avengers Initiative?" Clint asked, "I know he was one of your marks for a while, but I didn't think he had what it takes to join Fury's superpowered league."

"Yeah, he has all that and more," Natasha said quietly, "He's different. Dangerous even... but his heart's in the right place."

"What can he do?"

"Magic," Natasha whispered, as if the word itself could awaken a sleeping giant.

"You mean like Loki?" Clint asked, eyes widening in apprehension.

"Yes… well… no. Not exactly. It's a different kind of magic, at least from what I've seen. Just… trust me. I believe in him, and the rest of the team, whether they realize it or not, trust him too."

"Natasha, what's gotten into you?" Clint asked, "You're a spy. You don't get involved in hocus pocus and wars. What happened? Did Loki do something to you too?"

Natasha had a faraway look in her eyes, "He didn't… I just… I've been compromised. I got red in my ledger, and I'd like to wipe it out. Maybe start fresh… Maybe… as a hero… for once."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"So they're alive…" Steve said as he walked towards Tony, who was standing where Coulson was stabbed outside Loki's old prison cell.

"I guess…" Tony said.

"Then what's wrong with you?" Steve asked, "They're alive. We have Clint back. We have a chance."

"They're idiots," said Tony quietly.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Tony growled, "They're idiots."

"Why? For believing?" Steve asked.

"For taking on Loki like that," Tony said as his voice escalated, "For being out of their leagues and still trying to fight. For messing with things beyond their control!"

"Sometimes," Steve said in a whisper, "You don't have a choice."

"Yeah, you don't," Tony said, "And where does that get you? Inches away from death."

"Is this the first time you felt this powerless? Like you were losing your men?" Steve asked.

"Men?" Tony asked incredulously, "We aren't soldiers, Cap. We aren't little pawns in Fury's game."

"We aren't," Steve agreed, "Fury is at much as fault as Loki is. Still, we need to move past that and figure out Loki's plan. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list…"

Staring at the blood stain where Coulson lay, Tony snarled out, "Always with the plan, right Cap? I'm sure Coulson would've loved to hear this."

Steve looked at Tony. The billionaire was hurt, not only physically, but mentally and spiritually as well. He was losing faith and losing hope.

"We need to do this Tony," Steve said, "If we can do this, maybe one day, Coulson _can_ hear what we did. Tony, remember. Coulson is still alive thanks to Harry. He has that second chance, but we still can't let what he already did go to waste."

"Ugh," Tony said, "Don't get me started about Potter. Who does that kid think he is, claiming to be a master of magic and hiding his secrets. I still don't trust him."

Steve sighed, "Well you should, Tony, because it's thanks to him that Coulson's still alive. It's thanks to him that Natasha made it safely through Hulk's rampage to get to Barton. Even if he hasn't told us everything, he's been there for us. Everyone has their secrets, but as long as we can put them aside to fight the real battle, it doesn't matter."

Tony didn't respond, but inside of his mind, the wheels were turning. Logically, he knew that Harry's secrets were his own and that whatever powers he has doesn't matter as long as he could help. Tony couldn't help it though, having an unknown like that. Even with Banner, Tony understood both of his sides had good in them whether the doctor realized it or not. Harry Potter, however, was still a virtual unknown to him and everyone else, but Nick Fury let him run freely as a part of the team.

Standing here, though, looking at the bloodstain and thinking of what worse situations could have occurred, Tony knew that Harry was a big help to the team. In the end, the biggest problem at the moment was Loki, not the mysterious Harry Potter.

"He made it personal," Tony said, eyes widening.

"Who, Harry?" Steve asked confusedly.

"What?" Tony asked, shaking his head, "No. Loki did. That's the problem. He hit us where we live… but why though?"

"To tear us apart and hit us where it hurt," Steve answered.

"But that's not all," Tony muttered, "Loki's greedy. He wants to win, but he wants to do it in a big way. Loki wants the world to see us crumble and fall. It can't just be attacking us at the carrier. He wants every eye glued onto our destruction and his ascension. He wants a monument to his actions, his supposed greatness. Loki wants his name known to… damn it!"

Steve could barely follow Tony's train of thought as Tony listed off Loki's desire and asked, "What?"

"He wants everyone to see. And where better to do that then to take over the headquarters of a member of the Avengers?"

Steve's eyes widened as he remembered Tony's latest project.

"We've got to act now," Steve declared.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"Harry," Natasha said, sitting down on Harry's bed and nudging awkwardly at his arm hoping he would wake up.

To be honest, Natasha sucked at giving human contact. It was one thing trying to seduce someone, but it was a completely different matter trying to go through regular human interactions that didn't involve fighting or killing.

Harry's eyes slowly opened as he groaned.

"Wha-?" Harry asked, stifling a yawn, "Where am I?"

"Oh good," Natasha said, trying to cover the fact that she had jumped slightly at the noise, "You're awake."

"Natasha? What's going on?" Harry asked before realizing the past events, "Wait, where's Coulson? Is he okay?"

"Calm down Harry," said Natasha, "Coulson's still alive somehow, thanks to whatever you did."

"I did something?" Harry asked, trying to hide it.

But Natasha saw right through it thanks to her years of training.

"Nice try," Natasha said, "But it'll take years before you can lie to me and get away with it. Fury saw everything. Whatever you did, it worked, and none of us are questioning it right now. We're just all grateful."

Harry nodded, relaxing slightly before remembering where Natasha had gone.

"What about you? How are you? Did you get to your partner in time?"

Natasha answered, "Yeah, I'm fine. Everyone's fine. Well, not everyone. There were casualties… but my partner and everyone else that you know are probably okay. Thor and Banner are somewhere though, we don't know where, but I'm sure they survived. They're made of some tough stuff."

An awkward silent moment passed between them as Harry leaned against his elbows on the bed, processing everything that had happened. Master of Death or not, he had work to do, and if everyone didn't treat him like some freak for saving Coulson, even better.

"Thanks," Natasha said quietly.

Shaking his head free of his thoughts, Harry asked, "What did I do?"

"You helped me out during Dr. Banner's crazy rampage," Natasha said quietly, "If you weren't there, I'm not sure if I could've handled the Hulk by myself."

"Haha, I didn't do much," Harry said sheepishly, "If Thor hadn't come when he did, we probably would've been in trouble anyway."

"Either way," Natasha said, waving away Harry's excuse, "Thanks."

Harry simply nodded before going back to his contemplative mood. He figured Natasha was done, and he still had to get his head back together before they had to go back to the battlefield.

Meanwhile, Natasha was unsure of what to do.

'_Umm, what now? Am I supposed to hug him in thanks? Isn't that what friends do?'_ Natasha wondered, sweating, _'Wait, can you even consider us friends? We're comrades, but so are the Cap, Stark, the Doc and everyone else. I mean, Clint and I are friends, I guess… I mean, we're partners, but what am I supposed to do now? Maybe I should just leave.'_

Harry looked at Natasha oddly. She looked like she was deep in thought too, but hadn't left yet. She was just sitting there at his bedside.

Just as he was about to say something, Captain America busted in, completely in his star-spangled attire.

"Time to go," he commanded before looking at the two of them and said awkwardly, "Am I interrupting something?"

Harry and Natasha's eyes widened and immediately spluttered out denials. Steve smiled at the two of them. It was good that Harry was making friends with the group instead of just being secluded. The same could be said for Natasha, who spent most of her life dedicated to her work. Steve assumed she talked normally to her partner, but that was probably it. Especially during the times when Clint was under Loki's control, Natasha was not really close to anyone in the group. It was nice seeing them becoming fast friends.

"Go where?" Natasha asked once they both calmed down.

"I'll tell you on the way. Harry, are you okay to move out too?" Steve asked.

Steeling himself, Harry nodded with a serious look on his face.

"Good," Steve said, "We'll need all the help we can get. Can either of you fly one of those jets?"

"No, but I know someone who can," Natasha said.

"Clint?" Steve asked sharply, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Yeah," Natasha responded with a smile, "Don't worry, he's free from Loki now, and he wants some old-fashioned revenge."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Everyone suited up in their attire and walked to the hangar to commandeer one of the Quinjets. It was an odd sight to see, the five people unlikely heroes walking down completely suited up in their personal attire, except for Harry.

"Wait a minute," Tony said, "Harry, you're fighting in that?"

Everyone looked at Harry. He was dressed casually, with jeans, a white t-shirt, and a bright red jacket.

"What?" Harry asked, "It's comfortable."

"You're also a walking target," Clint muttered, "Especially in that bright red jacket."

"Well, what about Tony?" Harry asked, "He's even worse. Bright red and gold!"

"Well I have the protective armor to make up for it," Tony retorted, "Civilian clothes aren't gonna protect you from much. Can't you use your hocus pocus to make something better?"

Harry sighed, pulling out his wand. He knew there was no fighting their arguments. Even Natasha and Steve seemed to disapprove of Harry's clothing choices.

Transfiguring his clothes, Harry wore, instead, a robe similar to what he had at school but without the logos and color. Underneath, he wore a black, long-sleeved shirt and black pants. As an afterthought, Harry conjured up quidditch armor for himself as well, creating thick leather bracers for his arms and legs as well as protective gloves.

"Please don't tell me I have to hide my face like you guys too," Harry joked.

"No, you should be fine," Steve responded with a completely serious look on his face, "Unless you want the world to know who you are."

"Nobody knows who I really am anyway…" Harry whispered as they continued walking.

Tony nodded to everyone halfway to the jet as he flew out ahead of everyone else, impatient as ever to save his tower.

As they were approaching the Quinjet, however, a young pilot stood in their way.

"Hey!" he said, "You're not authorized to be here…"

Harry, already annoyed at having to change his attire, pointed his finger at the offending pilot causing a spray of sparks, like powdered ice, to hit him.

The pilot suddenly stood straight up, arms to his sides, and fell over. Looking warily at the man, the others could see a white-blue hue color his face. They all turned to Harry, who gave a non-committal grunt before going into the open jet.

"Remind me to never get on his bad side," Clint said.

"Agreed," Natasha said as they both entered the plane.

"Son…" Steve said with a pitying look on face as he looked at the petrified man, "Just… don't."

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

**A/N: **Yeah, a bit rough, but necessary to lead to the action in the next chapter and to somewhat cement Harry's position as a part of the team. Thanks for all the reviews and hope you all are doing well!

Oh, and as someone pointed out to me, I know Thanos's obsession with Death kinda shows how she's a female. In my version, Death is personified by the person and what makes it easier for Death to communicate to said person, thus Death to Harry is the old man. It's more of a genderless entity that changes based on the situation instead of being simply one gender or another.


End file.
